Kitchen Duty
by Bittersweet Blossom
Summary: Travis never would have thought that Kitchen Duty, of all things, could lead him to a relationship with Katie. However, he never expected the pranks wars, crazy goddesses, or general danger that came with said Kitchen Duty either. Traivs/Kaite fic.
1. All She Wanted Was a Bowl of Cereal

**Okay, hey everyone! If you've just started reading this story, thanks! You really don't know how much it means to me that someone is actually taking the time to read some of my work; seriously, it's amazing!**

**If you've been reading for a while and realize this chapter is different, well I have an explanation. Somehow, this chapter got replaced with a chapter from another fanfiction of mine. I have no idea how. Due to a mishap with my computer a few months back, I no longer have the original first chapter... which means I had to rewrite it. My brain tends to only really remember nonsense things that don't really matter, so this chapter is different from how it was written originally. Just though I'd clear that up. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. (Nor do I own any cereals mentioned in this fic.) **

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><p>No matter what Travis had to say on the subject, Katie was <em>not<em> a cereal addict. She just enjoyed the occasional bowl of fruit loops or frosted flakes. Today happened to be one of those occasions. That did not, however, make her an addict. (Seriously though, don't listen to Travis if he tries to tell you otherwise.)

Katie was just sitting at the Demeter table; pleasantly chatting with Miranda about how the cabin had been while she was gone (Katie happened to be a summer camper, not year-rounder. However, she did visit during winter break) when she suddenly felt something wet and undeniably sticky hit her head.

As she reached up to pull the offending item off her head, a hush fell over the dining hall. Though she didn't exactly like to admit it, Katie knew she had a temper… and well, three guesses as to how a pancake of all things ended up on her head (and as to how she'd react to said situation).

The daughter of Demeter scanned the dining hall and her eyes fell on the familiar scene of Travis laughing his head off. Oh, that boy was going to get it.

Ever-so-calmly, Katie stood up, bowl of cereal in hand, and casually walked over to the Hermes table. She felt all eyes on her; however, she marched forward. When she reached the table, Travis looked up at her, trademark Stoll smirk settled onto his features. Katie had learned to despise that smirk.

"Oh, hey Katie," Travis greeted nonchalantly, as if he didn't just throw a pancake at her, "it's only 7 in the morning and you already want to talk to me? Not that I can blame you, of course. I _am_ quite irresistible."

Smiling sweetly at Travis (and gleefully watching the smirk leave Travis' face), she put her bowl directly over Travis' face and tipped it over. Katie delighted in the way Travis' face scrunched up in disgust when the soggy breakfast hit its target.

Cereal: $3.50. Milk: $3.00. The look on Travis' face when he got coco puffs poured all over his head: priceless.

However, the situation took a turn for the worst when Travis' none-too-pleasant (yet still less annoying than Travis himself) brother stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Food fight!"

And well, you can guess how it went from there.

The Ares and Hermes cabins were the first on their feet, and oddly enough, quickly followed by the Hephaestus cabin. In a split second, food was flying anywhere and everywhere in the dining hall. It was comparable to World War III (or maybe a Third Titan War).

Seriously, give a demigod camp a few months of peace and they absolutely jump at the chance for some action.

Noticing the eggs flying her way, Katie quickly grabbed onto Travis and used him as a human shield. She could take monsters, but eggs on her face at 7 in the morning? No thanks.

"Well Katie, I didn't know you were that excited to be with me." Travis said, wiggling his eyebrows whilst also bringing up a plate to block his face from the eggs. They landed against the porcelain plate with a splat and then fell to the ground. Katie scrunched her nose; gross.

"Be careful. You don't want to break your legs jumping to conclusions." Katie bit back (though she didn't let go; who knew what kind of breakfast would come flying at her next).

However, all the "fun" was stopped when a plate loaded with all your breakfast nutrition (that means eggs, bacon; the works) hit a certain centaur right in the face. And somehow, Chiron still managed to keep his composure (seriously, she needed a lesson from this guy).

The dining hall was deadly silent, all eyes cast towards their camp director.

Finally, Chiron spoke. "I believe… it's time for morning activities. Wouldn't you agree?"

And just like that, the dining hall was empty. That is, of everyone except her and Travis of course.

Chiron turned her attention to them and Katie realized, embarrassed, that she was still holding onto Travis. Blushing (though she couldn't imagine why), Katie removed her hands and took two full steps away, satisfied when there was a few good feet separating the two of them.

"So," Travis started, "what's the punishment this time?"

Leave it to him to sound so casual. This certainly wasn't the first time Travis had gotten in trouble with Chiron (and the gods know it certainly won't be the last).

The centaur sighed and almost, _almost _rolled his eyes. Katie could tell it was taking him 2000 years of will power and patience not to do so. "A month of Kitchen Duty, both of you. Together."

"_What_?" Katie replied, startled. How exactly did she get roped into this? Travis was the one who threw the pancake at her first!

"Well, I believe the food fight wouldn't have started if you didn't make such a show with your cereal Katie." Chiron replied evenly, his tone unfaltering. (Unlike Katie, who felt like punching something. Like Travis. In the face. With a chair.)

"But… but what if he throws the lava at me or something!" Katie argued back, trying desperately to get out of his situation. Okay, so Travis probably wouldn't throw the lava (which was used for cleaning the dishes) at her; however, any reason not to be stuck doing Kitchen Duty, of all things, with Travis for a month was one she was willing to argue.

"Oh how your words wound me so." Travis replied, putting a hand over his heart in fake hurt. She took a moment to glare at him, before turning back to Chiron with a pleading look.

For whatever reason, the prankster didn't even look the slightest bit upset about the situation. Did he really want to be stuck doing Kitchen Duty with her for a month? She knew she didn't want to be stuck with him (in fact, she'd much prefer if he'd stay as far as possible; it's hard to prank someone from a distance). Actually, Travis almost looked… satisfied; he had that whole "cat that caught the canary" look on his face. A look that Katie didn't like one bit… it always meant trouble for her.

"Well, you seem to be getting along fine now. I'm sure you'll manage just fine in the next month. Who knows, maybe it'll even bring you two closer together." Chiron cut in, a hint of amusement in his voice. Obviously, this punishment was bringing him much more satisfaction than just dealing with the culprits for a food fight.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Katie all but shouted back.

However, the half-horse was already trotting away.

"So Katie," Travis said, giving her a serious look. "Do you plan on keeping that syrup in your hair all day? I recommend it; it gives it such healthy glow."

Really, it wasn't her fault that she punched him. All Katie had wanted this morning was a bowl of cereal; she ended up with a food fight, Kitchen Duty, and syrup in her hair. The least she could do was let out a little stress relief on Travis' face.

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><p><strong>Ehhh? So what'd you think? Please give me a review with any thoughtscomments/suggestions/rants. Thank you! **

**Also, since Travis and Katie aren't main characters, they didn't get much character development in the books. So, I am going off what _was_ in the books and then just adding some traits that I figure will fit the characters. **

**Hope you enjoy the next chapter, Bye. (: **


	2. A Dish Fraud

**Hey, Chapter 2 is up. I hope you enjoy it. It was pretty fun to write. (What can I say, "Travis" is an interesting guy...)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>Katie stood in the camp kitchen tapping her foot impatiently. Travis was late. Well, of course he was late. The only thing Travis Stoll is ever punctual for are his pranks. However, just because Katie expected his tardiness doesn't mean she wasn't going to be upset about it. It was his fault they were stuck here doing dishes; Travis should show up on time.<p>

"Hey there. You look upset. What's the matter?" someone asked in a joking manner.

Katie turned her head to the speaker, only to find Travis… in an over-sized football helmet. The daughter of Demeter couldn't help herself. She started giggling; he looked ridiculous (not that Travis didn't always look somewhat ridiculous).

"Why are you wearing a football helmet?" Katie asked, once she recovered from her burst of laughter.

"Katie, you and I both know that at some point, you're going to hit me on the head. And let's be honest, we also both know that I can't really afford to lose any more brain cells. I'm just being prepared." replied Travis, who was smiling a lopsided grin.

But something was wrong. His voice sounded a bit shrill, like he was nervous and wasn't trying to show it. Also, there was just something off about him...That, of course, made Katie instantly suspicious.

But Katie grinned anyway, "Yeah. You're probably right. Now, come on. We've got a ton of dishes to clean, and I don't want to miss the sing-a-long tonight."

So, they went over to the sinks and turned on the faucet. Instead of lava like they were expecting, water came out. For whatever reason, Katie signed in relief. Okay, so maybe she did expect Travis to throw the lava at her. In his eyes, setting her on fire would be the perfect way to mess with her.

"Huh, guess Chiron did listen to me." Katie said to herself, surprised.

"You say something?" questioned Travis, who looked like he was having a hard time keeping the football helmet on. It was just a_tad_ too big for his head. He kept moving his shoulders from left to right, so it looked like he was doing some sort of freaky dance.

"Uh, just talking to myself." answered Katie with thinking. Then she mentally slapped herself. She was going to sound crazy.

She could've sworn she heard Travis say, "Crazy girls; always talking to themselves."

So, Katie decided he deserved a good head-slap... and then she noticed the football helmet once again. She sighed and settled for punching him in the arm... hard.

"What was that for?" asked Travis, who sounded like he was trying not to laugh (and failing miserably, by the way).

"'Crazy girls; always talking to themselves.' Really?" answered Katie, who was also trying her best not to laugh also.

Yeah, okay, talking to herself was a little strange. But grounds for him calling her crazy (especially with all the crazy things he has done)? Nope.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask yourself?" replied Travis, a grin evident in his voice.

Then he looked over at Katie, and seeing the expression on her face, started running around the kitchen while Katie chased him with a quickly filled bucket of water.

Eventually, Travis slipped on some water (that had fallen out of the bucket) and landed on the floor. Katie tripped over Travis and ended up on the floor, laughing with him. When they clumsily got up, Travis noticed his football helmet got knocked off.

Travis' eyes scanned the room, frantically searching for his missing helmet. However, before he could get it back on his head, Katie got a closer look at "Travis".

"_Connor_?" Katie asked incredulously. Why… why would Connor be here?

"The one and only," Connor replied with a grin, "Travis was right. You are funny to prank. And here I was thinking he just liked you."

Katie's anger faltered for a second. "Travis likes me?"

"Guess not, this was pretty satisfying. He was right about the whole tomato-red face thing also," said Connor, "anyways, I gotta go collect 20 drachmas. You can finish up here, right?"

Then he ran off without waiting for an answer, leaving a stunned Katie and a few hundred dishes behind.

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><p><strong>See? I told you they wouldn't be very long. So review and tell me what you think of 'Day 1' of Kitchen Duty. I think I'll change the nake to Kitchen Patrol because that's what it's actually called in the books, but it's not really a big deal.<strong>

**Also, if you have any suggestions for the story, leave 'em in a review. Thanks.**

**So, Bye and I'll update soon. (:**


	3. Karma, Anyone?

**Hello, so here is chapter 3! I (most likely) won't be able update much in the next month, sorry. I'm be pretty busy with school and all the crazy project teachers are handing out. So, it's a bummer. Anyways, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>Katie wasn't sure what to expect today. She half-wanted Travis not to show up, even if that meant doing the dishes herself. Katie had no doubt that Connor told Travis everything that happened, and today was sure to be a bit awkward. But apparently, Travis decided that he should choose today not only to show up, but also to show up on time with an annoyingly cocky smirk plastered on his face. Even when he wasn't trying, Travis was annoying.<p>

"Hey Katie." Travis said, still grinning like the idiot he was.

"Travis." Katie replied, not looking at him.

She felt her face going hot, though she wasn't sure why. There was no reason for her to be embarrassed... was there?

"What's the matter Katie-Kat? Did you not have fun with Connor yesterday? Connor said he had a blast." Travis asked, not even trying to conceal his laughter.

"Why do you insist on being so annoying?" Katie responded, ignoring the question about Conner.

She wasn't in the mood for Travis and his antics today, though she's never really in the mood to deal with Travis. But who was besides his brother Connor?

"Why do you insist on being such a boring stick in the mud? Have you ever even heard of the word fun? Or party? Or really anything besides 'gardening' and 'Travis is annoying'?" Travis said, his voice mocking and smug.

Katie had to stop herself from punching Travis, no matter how satisfying giving Travis a black eye would be; she did not want to deal with a whiny Travis afterward. Nor did she need to deal with extra punishments if Travis decided to go play "victim" to Chiron. On month of Kitchen Duty was more than enough, thank you.

"Oh, just wash the stupid dishes." Katie ordered, ending the conversation.

After an awkward silence, a few broken dishes, and an incident with the soap (do not ask); Katie and Travis settled into a comfortable routine of Katie washing the dishes and Travis drying and stacking them.

They worked in silence for a while, but eventually, Travis got bored (and apparently also got a death wish) and decided to strike up a conversation with the already irritated daughter of Demeter.

"So, Katie. Conner tells me that you like me." Travis said, doing an awful job hiding his laughter. Katie could've sworn there was a light blush on his cheeks, but she dismissed the outlandish idea.

_Ridiculous_, she thought, _of course he isn't blushing. Why would he be?_

"He said that?" Katie replied, with just a _hint_ of venom in her voice.

Katie decided the next time she saw Connor, he'd have a vine around his ancle and he'd be dangling from the nearest skyscraper.

"Well, his exact words were 'Hey Travis, Katie has an embarrassingly large crush on you.'" Travis said.

"I'm going to kill Conner." Katie decided, an already present frown growing deeper on her face.

"You didn't deny it." Travis replied, a smirk on his face.

Katie was fuming. Did this insufferable idiot really think she felt anything but discontent towards him? Okay, so she also felt like she should punch him in the face, but that wasn't really an emotion...

"I will say this one time, and one time only. I. Do. Not. Like. You. I never have, and quite frankly, never will." Katie said through gritted teeth.

Though, if Travis wasn't imagining it, Katie was blushing lightly.

Then Katie stomped out of the kitchen, and this time, Travis and few hundred dishes were left behind. (Karma, anyone?)

Once he recovered from his shock, Travis' trademark smirk reappeared on his face.

"She is _so_ in denial."

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><p><strong>Alright, so did you like it? I hope so. Review and tell me what you think!<strong>

**It's kind of hard keeping these guys in character and everything because Rick didn't really develop them that much. So tell me what you think about there ICness also.**

**Uh, also, feel free to leave suggestions in a review about future chapters. Bye (:**


	4. It's a Start

**Hey everyone! I really thought I wouldn't have time to update, but I'm currently sick. So while I was lying in bed, I decided to go ahead and type up the next chapter in this story. It's longer than the previous chapter, but it's still not too long. So, enjoy. (: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis somehow managed to get to the kitchen before Katie. He was early, and well, that was something he didn't plan to make a habit of. As he stood there waiting, Travis contemplated his next prank. The problem was, he couldn't think of anything. And lately, Connor hadn't been of much help because he was too busy hiding from Jason (something about 'shaving cream' and 'a crazy roman out for revenge').<p>

Finally, after hours (a few minutes actually, *sigh* ADHD) Katie showed up. Travis wasn't one for romantic cheesiness, or romantics at all for that matter, but there was something about seeing Katie that made Travis' heart beat faster than when he pulled off his first prank. Maybe it was just the anxiousness because Travis knew Katie was going to hit him because of yesterday. He wasn't sure, and for now; he didn't care to find out.

"Hey Katie. Ready to do some dishes?" Travis asked, his voice only slightly mocking.

It was kind of ironic though; how was asking about dishes supposed to be a form of teasing? Travis sighed, being with Katie made him over think things, which wasn't good, since he didn't like to think that much in the first place.

Katie sighed also, possibly having the same thoughts as Travis. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

"Is someone in a bad mood?" Travis said, his mouth twitching as he tried (and failed) to resist smiling. Something about an annoyed Katie just made Travis smile. Was that so wrong? Travis didn't seem to think so... Katie did.

"No. Not at all. Having to do the dishes with you is just amazing, really." Katie replied. It was kind of hard to ignore the sarcasm in the statement; Katie's voice was dripping in it. However, Travis managed to do so anyways.

"I know. I am pretty amazing, aren't I?" Travis said his voice filled with foolish pride.

"You're insufferable." Katie corrected, trying not to laugh when Travis' smug face fell into a dissatisfied frown.

"You say that, but what you really mean is—" Travis was cut off by Katie, who was now the one smiling smugly.

"What I really mean is that you're insufferable." Katie repeated, and giggled when Travis decided to stick his tongue out.

"Very mature." Katie commented, yet she stuck her tongue out too.

"Who ever said I was mature?"

"Good point."

And so, they continued to do the dishes while still bantering lightly. They made light conversation, and there was little to no fighting. When they were finally finished, Katie was shocked to say the least. Her and Travis actually managed to get along without any major bickering, which was a first. (Katie imagined Annabeth and Percy had felt similar shock when they experienced a conversation like this. All the two ever did was fight.) She had almost decided that Travis might not be so bad, that is, until he smacked his hand against the water. This caused it to splash all over Katie, and somehow, miraculously not hit Travis at all.

Travis took one look at Katie's furious face and ran. Katie sighed, at least this time they finished the dishes before he took off. It looks like they were they were making some progress.

Katie left the kitchen and started heading for her cabin. She wasn't sure why, but something about actually getting along with Travis (for the most part, that is) almost made her as happy when she was in her garden.

And that (to say the least) scared her. Why would she be_ happy_ about getting along with a Stoll?

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><p><strong>So, what did you think? Review and tell me your thoughts. Also, feel free to lend me your ideas for the story. (If I use yours, I'll be sure to credit you in the AN.)<strong>

**Also, this takes place while Jason is at camp. I just added the part about Percy and Annabeth because it was true; they can barely make it thought a covnersation without fighting. **

**So, I'll update when I can, good bye. (: **


	5. Prank Wars

**Hey guys. Still sick, which sucks. Anyways, here is chapter 5. I hope you enjoy it. It kind of sets up the next few chapters. Also, I'd just like to point ou that just because Katie and Travis get along in one chapter does not mean they will the next. They sport a very love/hate relationship. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>A devious smile grew on Travis' face at the thought of what he was about to do (or what he already did, the bucket would really be doing all the work from here). Perched on the top of the kitchen door was a bucket. In the bucket was not water, but mud. Yes, the old 'the person opens the door and the bucket of water falls on them' prank was a little overused, but Travis' creatively was running low and, at the very least, he filled it with mud to make it a bit more original.<p>

There was no doubt in his mind that Katie was going to strangle him with some vines for it, but he couldn't help himself. They'd been doing the dishes for a few days now, and Travis had yet to do any pranking on her. What kind of son of Hermes was he? So, of course, he had to do something, even something as amateur as this. At the very least, there was no way it could fail. (There was nothing more shameful than a failed prank.)

And well, this was his "brilliant" idea. Okay, so maybe it wasn't all that brilliant. But without his partner in crime (Connor) or some funding to do something more elaborate, he'd have to stick with something pretty basic.

Travis waited for Katie to show up. He had arrived ten minutes early to set up the prank, but it was now 6:39 (how could little missy goodie-two-shoes Katie be 9 minutes late? Maybe Travis was rubbing off on her...) and she was nowhere to be seen.

Travis paced around a bit, and then just decided to sit and wait. But his ADHD got to him.

Without thinking, Travis got up and opened the door to go look for her. Just as he pulled the door back, a horrible realization came to him. Travis looked up just in time for the bucket of mud to land on him, in the face too.

Travis was dazed for a second, and then he heard the sound of laughter. He wiped off his eyes, and there in front of him stood Katie Gardner laughing her head off.

"What?" he managed, before closing his mouth. There was still a good bit of mud on his face, and he'd rather it stayed out of his mouth. Mud wasn't exactly a favorable flavor.

"I was running a bit late, and when I got here, I was just about to open the door. But then I noticed the bucket. I figured you'd come looking for me, and I waited. I was right, and this was hilarious." Katie replied through her laughter. She wiped a tear from her green eyes, looked at Travis, and then started laughing again.

Travis wasn't sure whether to be angry, proud, or shocked. Angry because his simple prank failed (It was so amateur, even a novice pranker could pull it off). Proud and shocked because Katie was getting good at pranking herself (Who knew?). He settled for a combination of the three.

"Why didn't you just kick open the door or something?" Travis asked, after attempting to wipe all the mud off his face.

"Because this was funnier, and it serves you right for always trying to prank me. A little taste of your own medicine." Katie said, calming down for her laughing fit.

"You know what this means?" Travis asked, an unnerving glint in his eyes. Katie was not going to like this.

"What?" Katie replied, curiosity etched into her voice.

"It's on! You have just started yourself a prank war Gardner!" Travis declared, raising one hand up in a fist while a grin broke out on his face.

Yep, definitely not liking it. Katie resisted the urge to point out that all of this was actually his own fault, but she doubted it would help her cause.

"And what if I don't want to participate?" Katie challenged, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Well, then I'll just continue to prank you until you do. Eventually you'll either fight back or beg for mercy." Travis explained, a smirk forming on his lips when he said 'beg for mercy'.

"Fine. But you're going to regret this, Stoll."

Travis looked offended, "A child of Hermes never regrets a prank war."

Katie just sighed, while Travis grinned.

Then, with Travis stilled covered in mud and Katie in a very grumpy mood, they went inside to do the dishes. Katie would glare daggers at Travis every now and again and Travis would just smirk.

The war was on; this was going to be fun. Or at least, that's what Travis was thinking.

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><p><strong>Okay, so did you like it? I know the idea Travis had was pretty unoriginal, and I'm sorry, but I'm not a child of Hermes and if you have any suggestions for the upcoming prank war, put it in the reviews and I'll try and put it in the story. <strong>

**Also, who would you like to win the prank war? It's going to stay between Travis and Katie (most likely), but who to you want to be victorious of the two?**

**Uh, I got to go now. So, bye and don't forget to review! (: **


	6. Never, Ever Make a Cactus Bed

**Aloha! I bring you chapter 6! I hope you enjoy it. I'm a little disappointed; this story isn't as popular as I thought it'd be. But that's cool; I'm having fun writing it.**

**Anyways, so today I finished rereading the Percy Jackson series (starting the Heroes of Olympus tomorrow) and It's amazing how much more meaning you get out of some books the 5000th time you've read them (exaggeration? Just a_ bit_). Eh, anyways, while reading them; I had an idea for another story. I'm going to put it up soon, so be on the look out!**

**And sorry, this chappy isn't really about while they're in the kitchen, and I doubt the next few will be either.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>Katie was completely exhausted. Today had just been too much for her to handle.<p>

First, she and her cabin had training with the Ares cabin (never a good idea, by the way). Two of her cabin mates ended up in the infirmity. Katie spent an hour looking for her gardening gloves. They were green with her name written in pink on them. Yeah, she asked Travis if he took them for the whole prank war thing they had going on, but he said no. Yeah, yeah; how can you trust a Stoll? Let's just say Katie's really good with telling if Travis is lying (okay, so she got Piper to charmspeak an answer out of him). And apparently, _he_ didn't steal them.

The only part of her day that wasn't tiring was doing the dishes with Travis(surprisingly). Travis had been in "deep important thought" the entire time (or at least, that's what Travis had said when she asked him), so they just washed the dishes in silence. That didn't really comfort Katie though; that meant he was planning for the prank war. That wasn't good, especially since she didn't have any ideas herself. But still, it was nice that she didn't get drenched or asked an awkward question or left to do all the dishes herself.

So, Katie headed towards the Demeter cabin, dragging her feet slightly as she walked. She decided to skip the sing-along, and just go to bed. Some sleep would do her good.

Once in her cabin, she clumsily got ready for bed and then crawled in. She was so tired; it took her a minute or so to realize something was wrong. Her bed was itchy and hurt slightly laying down... and there was this crunching noise. She lifted back the covers. The bed was filled with cereal! Several different types, also. There were lucky charms, cheerios, fruitloops, etc.

Katie was furious. She got up and was about to go hunt down a certain son of Hermes when something on her nightstand caught her eye. It was a jug of milk, a spoon, and a note.

On it read one word.

_Enjoy._

Katie was about ready to punch something (or strangle a _certain someone_ with some vines, either one, really). She didn't even know when Travis did this. He showed up in the Kitchen early (and this wasn't here when she was in her cabin), and he left after her. But then an idea occurred to her and she smirked.

_Oh, it's on. And I know exactly how to get you back_, Katie thought.

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><p>Travis was looking in the window of the Demeter cabin. No, he wasn't a stalker (though his brother begs to differ); he just wanted to see Katie's reaction. Yeah, he started off small. Filling her bed with cereal. Her mother was obsessed with the stuff, so really Travis was just doing her a favor. Right?<p>

Anyways, he was in one of those positions where he could see inside the cabin perfectly, but if you looked out; you couldn't see him. He watched Katie climb into bed and just lie there.

He waited a minute and she was still just lying there, oblivious to her cereal filled bed.

How could she not notice all the cereal? There was like 10 boxes dumped on her bed.

Then, finally, Katie got up and looked mad. Like really mad. Like I'm _going to kill Travis slow and painfully _mad. Suddenly, she turned to the nightstand and read the note.

Travis smirked as her face grew angrier. It was a lovely sight, really. Katie's face got all red and looked like she wanted to hit something. Travis almost laughed; he found Katie's reaction so funny. However, he didn't want her hearing him. (And contrary to what Percy thinks, Travis knew how to be sneaky.)

Then she did something he didn't expect. She smirked evilly. Travis didn't have to be able to read minds to know what she was thinking.

This prank war was about to get ugly and scary and most definitely entertaining.

Travis wasn't sure whether to be scared or excited. So, of course, he settled for a little bit of both.

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><p><strong>So, did you like? Please <em>review<em> and _tell me_! Thanks.**

**"And contrary to what Percy thinks, Travis knew how to be sneaky." - That was reference to the _Battle of the Labyrinth_ where Percy said that even though they were sons of Hermes, they were about as stealthy as Water Buffaloes.**

**Also, Thank you to AwesomeGirl82 for the prank idea! If you have any ideas, leave 'em in a review.**

**So, bye and until next time, keep reading. (:**


	7. Katie Loves the Color Green

**Hola! I now present to you chapter seven! This chapter is a little bit longer compared to the previous ones, and I can't say if this pattern will continue or not. Enjoy! (:**

**Oraldisaster101: Thanks for telling me. I went through the story, and you were right. I fixed any mistakes I could find. Again, thanks for the tip.**

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: Thank you. Your review really made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. And I probably won't be adding that new story for a while. I want to write out an entire draft first, so I can garentee quick updates on it. On and by the way, it'll be a Percabeth. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis was in a pretty good mood. His brother was in the clear, he had an idea for his next prank on Katie, and Chiron didn't know about the prank war. Actually, Chiron was so impressed by Katie and Travis' good behavior, that he was considering cutting their punishment in half.<p>

That sounds great, doesn't it? And it was, but for some unexplainable reason, Travis was little sad that he no longer had an excuse to hang out with Katie. He decided to ignore it.

_Probably just me being excited about the prank war_, Travis thought. He accepted the idea, and moved on from other way more ridiculous ones.

Funny though, how life worked. Because, at the same time, he was not really excited about going to do the dishes with Katie _today_. Travis knew she had a plan for revenge from the cereal prank. (He still didn't get why she was so upset. He thought she would like cereal as much as her mother did. *chuckles*) Travis, however, thought it was brilliant. He also knew he needed something to top it, but he couldn't worry about that right now. He needed to keep an eye on Katie.

"Way to sound like a stalker." Travis said to himself, and then chuckled lightly.

On the way to the kitchen, he thought of the possible ways Katie could revenge on him while they were doing the dishes. Now, it was possible that Katie could exact her revenge outside of their punishment, but it was most logical (okay, when did he become a child of Athena?) that she'd do it then. She'd be able to watch, and there would be no way for him to get out of it… unless Travis ditched. But as tempting as that was, Travis feared it'd be worse than whatever revenge Katie might have ready for him.

So, Travis walked to the kitchen with a sense a dread. But for whatever reason, when he got there, he cheered up.

He looked at Katie with her long dark hair and green eyes and thought, _Wow. She's really pretty._

Then he smacked himself in that _could've-had-a-VD_ style. All the while, Katie was staring at him like psycho. Which, now that he thought about it, he probably was.

"Hey, you can continue to hit yourself all you want. You and I both know I'd enjoy that, but I also have to get back to my cabin and look for my gloves, so let's just finish these dishes, okay?" Katie said, snickering slightly when Travis stuck his tongue out at her.

"Yeah, sure." Travis replied, eying her warily. He still hadn't given up the thought that she was going to prank him here.

However, he perked up at the mention of her gloves. About a week ago, he convinced Jason to steal them for him. That means he could truthfully deny ever doing it himself (good thing to, darn that sneaky Piper and her charmspeaking). This also meant he could use it for future pranking. Travis almost smirked, but he didn't want to give himself away.

Katie caught him staring and then sighed. "I'm not going to prank you here, that'd be too predictable and not to mention a little amateur."

Travis relaxed only slightly. Katie sounded truthful, but he had seen her lying skills in work before when she was convincing Chiron not to punish them when Travis got them in a certain situation involving duct tape, grape vines, and prom dresses. It's best not to go into detail about it…

An awkward silence settled in. And Travis got fidgety, he didn't like silence. Finally, he decided to break it… with a pretty lame question, though.

"So, how's it going Katie-Kat?"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?"

"No, you're too busy yelling at me for other stuff."

"…Oh, well don't call me that."

"Got that, Katie-Kat."

Travis smirked. He didn't even remember where he thought of the nickname, but once he said it. It had stuck; no way was Travis giving it up now.

Katie sighed, and then smiled slightly. _What an idiot_, she thought.

Then dishes were uneventful. Travis didn't even splash Katie with water. He was too bust being suspicious, and a little paranoid. Once he left the kitchen, he sighed with relief and sprinted towards the Hermes cabin. He wanted to grab some pranking supplies before the sing-along.

As he was looking around, Travis grabbed toilet paper, shaving cream, and other various not necessarily legal things. After grabbing everything, he sighed, realizing how exhausted he was. The sing-along didn't start for another 20 minutes. He could take a short nap.

He plopped down on his bed, and then let out a girly shriek that rivaled (and beat) Aphrodite's. He looked down and he sat on a clump of Cactus. Thankfully, the needles weren't too sharp or long; saving Travis from some permanent scaring, but it still hurt more than Travis would like to admit.

That sneaky Gardner. Travis was the least to say surprised, it was a decent prank. However, she was still an amateur and she did not know what she was getting herself into. Travis was ready for his own revenge, and an evil idea occurred to him.

Travis couldn't help but think, _Man, I love prank wars._

As Travis was painfully removing the cactus from his butt, Connor walked in. He let out a low whistle.

"That's definitely going to need some Nectar."

Travis could swear he heard something that sounded suspiciously like a certain daughter of Demeter laughing outside his cabin.

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><p><strong>So, tada! I liked the prank idea, though it was a little cruel. Review and gime me your thoughts on the chapter and the the story, please! <strong>

**I realized I hadn't been doing much explaining on the characters looks (mainly because there were already descriptions in Rick's books), so I added some in there also. **

**Also, any recommendations should be left in the reviews.**

**Thanks, and bu-bye. (: **


	8. Pink and Yellow

**Hey people! Chapter 8 is up! Sorry if I'm kind of late on the update (woah, that rhymed); life has been kind of hectic lately, but either way, here it is. Enjoy. (:**

****Oh, and check out my new story _The Word on Percy Jackson! _It's a sequel to _About Percy Jackson_, so if you haven't read that story first; you'll need to. Hehe. (Sorry LAUGHwithaSMILE, it's not the Percabeth story mentioned last chapter). ****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympian or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>You know what's Katie's favorite color is? Green. Yeah, Katie just loves the color green. It probably has something to do with the fact that her mother is Demeter, you know, goddess of all that plant stuff. So, of course, Travis being the nice guy he is, decided to allow for more green in her day to day life.<p>

How, you ask?

By dying her hair green, of course! It was pretty hard to do considering Travis had to get her hair wet for the process, but he managed. Now Katie had lovely hair the color of grass.

Katie, well, she didn't find it so lovely...

Katie had woken up to find she had overslept. She got up and hurriedly took a shower and then got dressed. Once out of the bathroom, all eyes were on her.

"What are you waiting for? We're late for breakfast." Katie all but yelled at her siblings.

Some of them looked like they were trying not to laugh. Katie wasn't sure what that was all about, but she dismissed it. It was the younger campers anyway.

"Alright." one of the, Miranda, replied while giggling slightly.

On the way to the dining pavilion, Katie could tell some people were watching her. Being tired out from yesterday (growing cactus short-notice took a lot out of a girl); she didn't have enough energy to be suspicious, so she ignored it.

Once at the dining pavilion though, the Hermes and Ares cabin took one look at her and then burst out laughing. The Athena table looked like they were trying to hold back snickers, while Annabeth gave Katie a sympathetic smile and then pointed towards her hair.

Travis walked over to Katie with a smirk clearly plastered on his face.

"What's up Katie-kat? Just curious, but have you looked in a mirrior lately?" Travis asked casually, but Katie knew he was resisting the urge to burst out laughing himself. His smile kept twitching and he kept covering his mouth.

An awful feeling washed over Katie. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and examined it.

She didn't even try to hold in her scream.

Her hair was green. Green!

She turned towards Travis, and well, if looks could kill; Travis would be dead.

"Something wrong?" Travis asked, smiling innocently.

"You—Travis – Hair—Green. I'm going to kill you!" Katie shouted.

She didn't even care that the entire camp was looking at them with amused and slightly scared looks (Katie could be almost as scary as Annabeth when she wanted to be).

"Yeah, you told me your favorite color was green. Really, I was just helping out." Travis replied. He smiled sweetly at him and Katie just let her instincts take over.

She punched him in the face and it felt good. Really good. You know, it made one of those really satisfying_ SMACK_ sounds. Travis went down, completely out of it, also with a bloody nose.

Katie looked down at Travis and felt a sliver of guilt, but it quickly vanished when she remembered her green hair.

Katie was pretty happy, that is, until Chiron walked over with a look that clearly said _why does Katie anyways end up punching Travis when they talk_?

"Miranda, will you please take Travis to the infirmary? Feed him some ambrosia for his nose." Chiron said, and then turned to Katie with a look of disappointment and anger.

"Really? You punched him and he's knocked out. Katie, you need to learn to control you anger better." Chiron lectured, giving her another look of disappointment.

Katie was ashamed, but at the same angry. He dyed her hair green; how exactly was she supposed to get it back to its original color?

"He dyed my hair green Chiron! I should've done worse." Katie said, irritation seeping into her voice.

"Katie, go to the Hecate cabin; they can fix your hair. I hope you know this means that your dishes punishment will not be cut in half." Chiron said.

He looked torn thought, like he wanted to punish Katie and Travis, but didn't want to deal with all the misbehavior that comes with it. Katie couldn't blame him, but at least Travis and Katie didn't destroy a cabin this time…well, yet.

"Yes sir." Katie replied and then stalked off towards the Hecate cabin, already planning her next prank. And hoping that Travis would be fine by tonight, she was _not_ going to wash all those dishes alone.

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><p><strong>Okay, so I hope you liked it. Review and tell me what you think. (:<strong>

** And yeah, Travis will be okay, hehe. Man, for some reason, I loved writing this chapter. **

**So, uh, any questions or suggestions? Leave 'em in the review. I'll do my best to answer questions in the AN and use your ideas in my story.**

**Okay, so bye.**


	9. Anticipation Is Critical

**Hey guys. I bring you chapter 9! By the way, I'll be updating this story every other day. It willl be alternating with my other story The Word on Percy Jackson. Alternating the stories lets me alternate characters and styles, so I can do a variety 'n stuff.**

**AwesomeGirl82: That is so gonna be my next prank on Travis; that hilarious! Oh, and thank you for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>After Katie got her hair back to normal, the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Travis' nose was fixed in time to do the dishes (though it did look kind of funny), and even that didn't have any fallout moments. Once back in her cabin, Katie got ready for bed and then crawled in, waiting for sleep to take her. However, she couldn't get her mind off the revenge she had planned for Travis. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Katie drifted into a dreamless sleep.<p>

When she woke, all this was on her mind was getting back at Travis. Yeah, it sounded stalkerish, but she was sick of his pranks and utter lack of respect for her. She was going to end it here.

If only it were that simple.

Katie waited for the long day to pass because her prank could only be executed at night. Finally, when night came, she snuck out of her cabin.

Trying to be as quiet as possible, she headed over to the Hermes cabin. (Yeah, she didn't want to get caught by the harpies for being out of her cabin after curfew. Being eaten by harpies would be a stupid way to die.) After sneaking in, she got to work on the prank. From her bag she removed hair dye and permanent makeup.

First she worked on his hair. The hair dye was specially made by the Hecate cabin, so she didn't need to get his hair wet or anything, and it could only be reversed by the Hecate cabin (or fade off in a week, but by then, it should have been torture enough). It came out bright pink and yellow, otherwise known as Travis' two least favorite colors.

Then, she started doing his makeup. Katie made it look halfway like a clown and halfway like an Aphrodite girl in too much makeup (she could decide which was worse, so she went with both).

Once all done, she stood up to examine her final product. Katie smiled evilly (might as well say goodbye to miss-goodie-two-shoes here) and then resisted the urge to laugh.

She then snuck out of Cabin 11, making her way back to her own cabin to get some sleep.

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><p>Travis woke up feeling kind of funny, but he ignored it. It probably had something to do with the broken nose he had received from Katie the other day.<p>

He smiled at the thought of Katie. Wow, that chick could punch. He looked over at his clock and realized his cabin was late for breakfast.

"Hey everyone, get up. We're gonna be late!" Travis yelled, and he ran around the cabin looked for clean enough clothes to wear.

Once everyone was up, they were staring at his a little funny. However, Travis dismissed it; his nose still looked strange.

The cabin rushed to the dining pavilion, and got there just in time.

Travis sat next to his brother and started munching on some cereal. He was so engrossed in his cereal that he didn't realize Katie was walking over to his table until she was right in front of him.

"Hey Travis, have you looked in a mirror lately?" Katie asked, pulling off the same fake innocence that Travis had just the day before.

"Uh, no. Why, do I look extra hot today?" Travis said, grinning at Katie.

The other tables snickered slightly, but Travis paid no attention to it.

Yeah, Travis isn't the sharpest spoon in the drawer. Come to think of it, spoons aren't even sharp…

"You tell me, here's a mirror." Katie replied, a smirk very evident on her face.

Travis looked in the mirror, and resisted the urge to scream like a four year old girl. His hair was pink and yellow, and he _hated_ pink and yellow. Worse, Katie took the liberty to also do his makeup. He couldn't decide whether or not he looked like a daughter of Aphrodite or a clown. Maybe a combination of the both. Either way, it was hideous.

A look of horror passed over his face before it quickly turned into a smirk again. Katie looked confused for a second before Travis spoke up.

"Why yes, I do look extra hot today." He said and then winked.

Travis spent the rest of breakfast doing his best to act calm. Once it was over, he ran towards his cabin as fast as possible. He tried scrubbing the makeup off or washing the hair dye out. To his absolute horror, neither would wash away.

After scrubbing his face fifty times, Travis heard Connor enter the cabin.

"Man, you're wearing so much makeup Aphrodite would be jealous!"

"Shut up!"

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><p><strong>Yeah, so, I'm not sure why. But I just love putting Conner-comments at the end. Hehe. Oh, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think of the chapter!<strong>

**Anyways, got any suggestions or questions? Leave 'em in the review; I'll do my best to answer them.**

**See you the day after tomorrow! Bye! **


	10. Oh, the Irony

**Grr. Sorry for being late on the update. My computer was out of whack yesterday. NOTHING was working right. So, I didn't get to update this story or write next chapter for my other story (though, I try and write it tonight). So, sorry. (Really, I am!)**

**After I finish this story (and The Word on Percy Jackson), I'll be taking a short break from fanfiction. Like 1 week to a month, though most likely not that long. Sorry. I'll be working on 2 other stories and just enjoying a short break. And I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about these two stories. One is along the lines of a parody and the other is an original idea of mine. (Hehe, and they've both got Percy, who, in case you haven't noticed, has been lacking in most of my stories.) **

**susan army: Yeah, I realize. Don't worry, there will be. (;**

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: haha...an eye for a head...so true though...**

**DIsclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis was excited. This Prank War was starting to get interesting. He knew Katie was going to kill him multiple times over for what he was about to do, which only made it better (okay the dead part wouldn't be so good, but Katie's reaction would be priceless).<p>

And she _so_ deserved this because of the makeup incident. Travis did not want to talk about it, so, yeah, he called it _the makeup incident_.

Travis had spent most of his secret stash of mortal cash getting the components that were required for this prank, so he was ready to get it on with.

Oh, what was the prank, you ask?

Spray paint the flowers around the Demeter cabin to make them look dead, of course. Yeah, the paint was safe, meaning it wouldn't actually hurt the flowers. And it came off with water, so it wasn't permanent. So, the prank was harmless, but Katie's reaction when she thinks all her flowers are dead, well that would be priceless.

So Travis snuck out of his cabin in black ninja clothes and a bag filled with spray paint. He headed over to the Demeter cabin as quietly as possible, not wanting to be discovered by the harpies. (It happened before; they almost ate his ear before he got back to his cabin.) Travis had survived the second Titan War and Katie's wrath several times; he was not going out by being eaten by some half-bird things.

Once at the Demeter cabin, Travis got out the spray paint. He got several different shades of brown and tan, in order to make it as realistic as possible. He got to work spray painting the different flowers different shades to look dead. He could name almost all of them, not because he was a flower fanatic, but because he had spent time with Katie when she was planting flowers. And, well, she attempted to teach him about some of them. Who knew some of it would actually rub off on him?

Once he was finished, Travis stepped back to look at his work. It was hard to see in the dark, but the flowers definitely looked dead. After admiring his work, Travis realized how tired he was. Being a pranker really takes a lot out of a person.

He headed back to his cabin, stumbling here and there do to exhaustion. He got into his cabin, and then collapsed on his bed; he was asleep before he even hit the pillow.

Katie woke up smiling. Today was going to be good; she could just feel it. She got ready for the day, and was out of her cabin heading for breakfast with the rest of her cabin close behind. However, when she saw the flowers surrounding the Demeter cabin, she stopped dead in her tracks.

They were dead. All the flowers were dead.

Katie wasn't sure whether she should cry, scream, or kick something. She just stood there staring. Finally, her siblings seemed to take notice.

"Who did this?"

"How could this happen?"

"Do you think Mom is cursing us?"

"Maybe Hades. Him and Mom hate each other. The flowers are dead; he could have done it."

However, Katie knew it wasn't Hades or Demeter or any other god. No, she knew who did this. And this time, he went too far. Killing all her flowers? That wasn't a prank, it was cruel.

"Guys," Katie said, grabbing their attention, "I know who did this. I'll be back."

Katie left without a reply and headed towards the Hermes cabin, reading to kill Travis. And then bring him back to life, and then kill him again.

She opened the door to find the entire Hermes cabin asleep; she marched over to Travis' bed and shook him violently until he woke up.

"Oh, hey Katie. Whatcha doing in my cabin?" Travis asked, a smile on his face.

'What did you do to my flowers?" Katie shorted, waking up server members of the cabin. But she didn't care, even if they were glaring at her.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I'm pretty thirsty. Man, I wish I had some WATER." Travis replied, talking noticeably louder when he said water.

"What are you going on about Stoll? Why would you do that to my flowers? That was cruel and uncalled for." Katie said, her voice growing louder and more angry.

"I didn't do anything to your flowers. Maybe you just didn't WATER them enough." Travis answered, his voice once again growing louder when he said water.

Katie wasn't sure what game Travis was playing or what water had to do with anything, but she was done dealing with him.

As she was leaving the cabin, she heard what sounded suspiciously like a certain son of Hermes laughing and saying _water._

Katie wasn't sure when exactly she got it. Maybe it was when she was by the lake, or possibly during training. But when she did, she rushed back to her cabin with her watering jug.

Katie sat down next to the flowers and prayed to every god she could think of, but specifically her mother. She poured a little water on the flowers, and they seemed to come back to life. .

Paint.

The stupid son of Hermes spray painted her flowers. She regretted agreeing to this stupid prank war, but at the same time, she was anticipating her next move. Because once again, she knew exactly what to do to get him back.

She sighed and got up to find her cabin. Before she pranked the son of Hermes, Katie decided she should probably go find her crying cabin mates (they were really upset about the flowers) and some more water.

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><p><strong>Sorry folks. I just couldn't have Travis actually kill the flowers. That be a little cruel, and pranks are funny, not cruel. So, review and tell me what you think. The prank war is almost over, and I think you all will be shocked about it's ending, but hey, maybe I'm wrong. <strong>

**It's getting tiresome typing this each chapter; however, I will again anyway. Any suggestions or questions? Leave 'em in a review!**

**Again, sorry for the late update. It really wasn't my fault!**

**Bye. (:**


	11. Acting Like a Jerk Leads to Dreaming

**Hola people, I bring you chapter eleven. Enjoy. (: **

**Xerdeth: It's cool. I know what you mean. Every time I review from my phone, I accidentally put in like a million mistakes. So, yeah, no worries. **

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: I'm really not sure how I'm going to end this (not the prank war, got that covered), but just the story in generel. But don't worry, I'll do my best to make it original!**

**my dad is hermes what now: Eh, fluff? Probably not. But yeah, there will my more romance... son. Be patient, young one. (Sorry, it's from a movie!) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Katie wasn't sure why, but Travis had this irrational fear of snakes. If Travis sees one, his usual reaction is to jump into the arms of the nearest person and point at it like that'll magically make it go away. Guess what? It won't. His fear of snakes was also kind of funny, whenever Travis sees Hermes (which isn't that much, sadly) he always twitches when he see the snakes on Hermes' caduceus. Katie found it pretty funny, but Travis didn't share her sense of humor in the matter.<p>

So, knowing this little piece of information gave Katie a way to finally end this competition. She went into the forest and headed for the creek. Being a daughter of Demeter, you wouldn't think she'd know a lot about snakes. However, her dad was a scientist who studied snakes; he taught her a lot. What she was looking for were some harmless varieties for her little prank on Travis.

She walked along the banks of the creek and when she spotted a snake, she'd use this special snake-catching instrument to pick it up. If the snake was venomous, she put it back, if not, she put it in her snake bag.

After a few hours, she had collected ten snakes. You would think it'd be overkill, but Katie was ready to win this Prank War, and be done with it. She placed the snakes in a cage under her bed, she'd get them later that night.

Once the sign-along started, Katie moved into action. Pretty much everyone had gone, and that included everyone in the Hermes cabin. She walked over with the cage, smirking to herself.

When she got to the cabin, she snuck in, just in case. Katie found that is was empty and got to work. First she found Travis' bed. While grinning, she filled the snakes in it, being careful to put one under the pillow. After pulling the covers back up, it just looked like a messy, lumpy bed. Perfect.

After doing that, she set up a video camera. It was pretty well hidden, but had a great view of Travis' bed. Katie smirked; it would be perfect black mail (wow, she really needs to stop hanging out with the Hermes kids).

Then, without making a sound, she left the cabin.

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><p>Travis was tired. Something about pulling a prank on the Ares cabin (turning all their weapons pink) and being chased around camp for two hours wore him out. So, Travis trudged to his cabin with only one thing on his mind. Sleep.<p>

Once in his cabin, he clumsily got ready for bed. He climbed in and then let out an ear shattering scream. He got up and carefully pulled back the covers. What he saw almost made him need a new pair of pants. There were tons of snakes in his bed. Slithering around each other and getting tangled up; it was a miracle one of them didn't bite Travis.

He just sat there (a good distance away from his bed), dumbfounded. How could she do something so evil?

One of the snakes slithered off the bed towards Travis. After a girlish whimper, he got up and ran behind his brother.

"Get them out of here!" Travis yelled.

"Nah, I'm enjoying this way too much."

"Connor, I swear if you don't get those snacks out of here, I'll show the camp _the video_."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Connor sighed. This wasn't worth letting _the video_ get out.

After him and the other cabin mates collected the snakes and sent them back to woods, Travis wearily got back in bed. For some unknown reason, his pillow felt lumpy. He lifted up the pillow and saw glittering snake eyes staring up at him.

He was so shocked and terrified, Travis fell out of bed and landed on the floor with a thump.

"Th-there's another s-snake!" Travis stuttered, and point up towards his pillow is if it were evil (or as if it would magically disappear).

Conner sighed again. "Honestly, I think dad would be disappointed in you."

"For being afraid of snakes or for being pranked by a daughter of Demeter?"

A smirk formed on Connor's face. "Both."

Travis groaned and then grinned (an interesting sight to see, by the way). He knew exactly how to win the prank war, and it involved doing some dishes.

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><p><strong>I hope you liked it. Review and give me your opinions. Okay, next chapter is actually the last one in the Prank War. But it almost leads into the, uh, 'next phase' of this story. <strong>

**So, got anything to ask or suggest? Leave it in a review. **

**Also, thank you very much to AwesomeGirl82 for the snake idea! You rock!**

**Okay, bye for now! (:**


	12. The Incident

**Hey, long time; no update! Sorry 'bout that guys. Combine a mild case of writers-block with spotty internet connection, and well, would you be updating as often? So again, sorry for being late.**

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: Yeah, next part is here. It will still include humor, just not as much, THis is more of the Tratie phase, that was mentioned so long ago at chapter 1. Thanks for the review!**

**CimFan: I guess you'll just have to ask Travis that one... Thanks for the review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>The prank didn't go as Travis expected. When you prank someone, they're not supposed to run away crying and shouted curses at you in a jumbled mix of ancient Greek and English.<p>

But that's exactly what happened when he pranked Katie.

And now, Travis felt extremely guilty. He had already tried apologizing to Katie several times, but she refused to even listen to him. Katie would just walk away, not even acknowledging his presence.

Travis just wasn't sure what to do. After walking around camp for a hour (he was too depressed to do anything else), he went back to his cabin.

When Travis walked in, Connor was lying in bed listening to an iPod. Travis walked over and tapped on his shoulder.

Connor looked up and took out his earbud. "What?"

"I-I messed up."

"Yeah, I heard. Sucks for you, really. Whatcha gonna do now? Move on to the next girl?"

Connor sounded so nonchalant and completely stupid that Travis had to noticeably hold back his hand from punching his brother. And he usually wasn't a violent person. Huh.

"Or… you could somehow make it up to Katie?"

"How?"

"Not my problem. Sorry kid. You'll have to come up with that part on your own."

"First, thanks for the help brother. Where, oh where, would I be without you?" Note the sarcasm. "Second, I'm the older brother. Don't call me kid."

Deciding to be mature about the situation, Connor stuck his tongue out. Travis just ignored his brother; he didn't need another headache.

"Man, I'm exhausted." Travis said.

Connor shrugged. "Take a nap."

For whatever reason, a nap sounded absolutely amazing to Travis. He plopped down on his bed, and before he knew it; Travis was out cold.

_When Travis opened his eyes, 2 very angry women (more like one angry, and one trying to look like it) were standing in front of him._

_"What have you done to my daughter?" the first woman asked._

_Travis took a closer look at her. She had dark brown hair, with strands of wheat braided in. She actually kind of looked like an older, more strict version of Katie Gardner. Finally, Travis got it. She was Demeter._

_"Yeah, I can't decided to mad or happy at you," the second one said, "I could be happy because you started some relationship drama. However, I could also be angry because you're causing trouble in your relationship way too early. Seriously, how could you do that to her? Are you stupid or something?"_

_Travis squinted at the second woman. He couldn't make out her hair or eye color. Come to think of it, she actually kind of looked like Katie also. And then Drew from the Aphrodite cabin… and then maybe this pretty actress Travis once saw on TV. So, obviously, the second woman was Aphrodite._

_"Well, my momma said stupid is as stupid does…" Travis replied._

_"Demeter looked confused, but Aphrodite squealed._

_"I love that movie. So romantic!" She all but shouted._

_Demeter turned to glare at Aphrodite. "Don't change the subject. We aren't heere to talk about movies!"_

_"Um," Travis said, "what exactly are you two here to talk about?"_

_Well," Demeter started, "I'm here to talk about your horrid actions towards my daughter, Katie. Aphrodite, I have no idea. Though, considering what she's the goddess of, I really don't want too."_

_Travis shrunk under Demeter's glare. "What exactly did I do?"_

_Wrong thing to say._

_"Don't you dare try playing innocent!" Demeter yelled._

_Travis gave Aphrodite a pleading look, but she just shook her head, amused._

_She glared at Travis once more. "I don't care how, but you're going to fix this for my daughter. And if you don't…"_

_She left the threat hanging. Travis had seen Katie when she was mad; he did not want to have the same experience with her mother._

_After giving Travis one last frown, she disappeared, leaving the smell of different crops behind._

_Travis took a breath, and then turned to Aphrodite, not sure whether to be relieved or more scared._

_Aphrodite looked like she couldn't decide whether to be angry or excited. It was actually kind of funny._

_"…yes?" Travis finally asked._

_"Basically, the same message as Demeter, except it better be romantic. As much as I love watching the Percy and Annabeth drama that's going on now that Percy's missing, it's getting old. I'm ready for a new couple."_

_Travis stared at Aphrodite for a second, not getting it. Then, his confused face turned to one of realization. And then a mix between horror, shock, and, just maybe, hope._

_"Katie and me and couple? Sorry, but no way!"_

_Travis wasn't sure whether to choke or laugh. This idea was ridiculous. Even before… the incident, Travis and Katie were never on the best terms. What exactly made Aphrodite think they'd ever be a couple. Travis didn't care if she was the love goddess; Aphrodite was crazy!_

_But secretly (very secretly), Travis kind of liked the idea. Not that he'd ever admit it (even to himself)._

_She just gave Travis a knowing smile, before saying, "We'll see, Travis. We'll see…"_

_And with that mysterious, creepy line; Aphrodite disappeared._

And soon, Travis woke up, gasping for air.

Even if two goddesses hadn't showed up in a dream...and threatened Travis; he knew what he had to do. Travis had to correct… the incident, and well, win Katie back.

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><p><strong>And yes, I purposely haven't told you what Travis did, even though I know what it is. Its a...mysterysurprise. Hehe. **

**Also, in the dream, if you were confused, Travis' line about _stupid_ is a reference to a movie. Points for you if you can guess which one. **

**Anyways, until next time, You still have a ways to go! (; [Sorry, again! Another reference, though this one is a series...again, points to you if you can guess it!] Bye! (:**


	13. The Denial River

**Hey everyone, here is chapter 13. Enjoy. Oh, also, check out my newest (latest?) story _Reactions_.(:**

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: Yep, that's right. I watched the series and I found that line hilarious, I just had to put in in. (Hehe.) Yeah, poor Travis (and Katie). I really hope I'm not creating too much hype for something you all will find stupid... Thanks for the review!**

**TheArtisticSeventh: Me too, the night before I wrote chapter 12, I saw the movie for the first time. I loved it, so I just had to put in a reference! Thanks for the review!**

**Katerina Riley: Yep, Forest Gump. :) But yeah, I think I'm in some trouble now...**

**AnzGirl-luvsu: Yep, that's it. Thanks for the review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>Katie ran from the kitchen, the world a blur around her. How could Travis do that to her?<p>

Okay, so maybe she put snakes in his bed, but still. It was uncalled for. Katie had thought at the very least, they had been getting along a little better. That maybe Travis was finally starting to get her, that they might actually be _friends_. Obviously, Katie was wrong.

Katie walked to her garden, hoping that it would calm her down. She sat down by the tulips, and wiped her face. Katie hadn't even noticed she had been crying. She cursed Travis once again and glanced at her garden.

That wasn't the right thing to do. It only reminded her of…the incident. She didn't even want to think about it, but the image replayed several times in her mind.

Finally, she got up and headed for her cabin. Once inside, she laid down, and before Katie knew it; she was asleep.

_Katie Gardner glared at the goddess of love, but Aphrodite just continued to smile innocently. Katie wasn't sure if Aphrodite was ignoring her glare or just didn't notice it, but it was starting to get on her nerves._

"_What?" Katie asked, her glare intensifying. "How could you say that?" _

_Soon after Katie feel asleep, Aphrodite decided to visit her. Wonderful, really. (Did you catch the sarcasm there?)_

"_Tsk, tsk. Glaring does not do you justice, Katie." Aphrodite replied, still smiling, though, it was starting to turn into a smirk. _

"_I refuse." Katie said, crossing her arms across her chest. _

"_You're going to forgive him, I just know it! I might not be the Oracle, who, by the way, could have had a great love life, but I'm great with predicating love!" Aphrodite was getting just a bit too over-excited about this. _

"_Wait, when did me NOT forgiving Travis turn into a discussion about love?" asked Katie, giving Aphrodite a _don't-even-try-and-go-there_ look._

"_Because you and Travis are in love, my dear Katie!" Aphrodite all but shouted._

_She went there._

"_I don't even like Travis, why on Earth would you think I love him?" Katie's voice was an interesting mix of disgust, anger, and denial. Aphrodite found it amusing, of course. _

"_Oh please, don't even try and deny it. You're worse than Percy when I visited him… though at least you can form complete sentences…"Aphrodite trailed off, looking thoughtful. "The point is, you're going to forgive him."_

"_No. Do you know what he did?" _

"_Yes, I do. But you have to forgive him. He has such great taste in movies, referencing one of them when I went to see him." The love goddess said, sounding slightly whistful._

"_You visited Travis too?" Katie questioned, narrowing her eyes._

"_Oh, but of course!" Aphrodite exclaimed. "I gave him some advice. You're mom visited him too; I swear, the look on his face when she started yelling at him: priceless!"_

_Katie couldn't help it, she laughed. She could so imagine Travis' face when being yelled at by an angry wheat goddess. It probably looked almost exactly like the look on his face when Katie started yelling at him. _

"_See, you just have to forgive him! You know he didn't mean to do that to you." Aphrodite reasoned, giving Katie a pleading look. _

"_I-I just can't, not yet. I know he didn't mean to do something so…extreme, i guess, but that doesn't change the fact that he did." Katie explained, looking down sadly. _

_Surprisingly, Aphrodite walked over and layed a hand on Katie's shoulder. _

"_Don't worry. He may not look like it, but Trais is a pretty romantic guy, he'll fix this." Aphrodite winked; Katie wrinkled her nose in disgust._

"_I don't like Travis like that!" She was back to glaring at Aphrodite._

"_Sure, and Denial ain't just a river in Rome…"_

"_The Nile is in Egypt. The Tiber is in Rome." _

"…_Oh. Anyways, you can't deny it! You so like Travis! But don't worry, he likes you too!" Aphrodite reassured. _

"…_Yeah, right. Can I go now?" Katie asked._

"_Oh, yeah sure. And remember what I said, there's no point in rejecting the truth!"_

"_Whatever."_

And soon, the dream was gone. Katie woke up with a start, her face feeling sticky from all the crying she had done. She wiped it off, and looked around at her cabin, a little disbelieving towards the fact that she just had a conversation with the goddess of love.

However, there was still only one thought in her head:

_There is no way I like Travis Stoll. No way._

_Right?_

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><p><strong>There you go. Reveiw and give me your thoughts. Got any guesses about the incident. There is a hint earlier in the story, so yeah... Guesses, anyone?<strong>

**Also, you ever heard the _denial in Egypt_ joke? Yeah, my friend told it to me. I found it pretty funny, and it fit in nicely, so yep...**

**Alright, so you know what to do with questions and suggestions. **

**Later. **


	14. What He Did

**Hola people. I bring you chapter 14, and yes, you finally get to figure out what happened. Sorry if you hate it. (:**

**LAUGHwithaSMILE: Good thing I'm not the only one imagining a romantic Travis...haha. Thanks for the review!**

**TheArtisticSeventh: Haha, nope. No plants. Thanks for the review!**

**We reached 100 reviews, woohoo! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Katie sat on her bed, moping. That's pretty much all she had done in the last week. Her siblings, Travis, and several others of her friends tried to cheer her up, but it was no use. Travis had tried getting her flowers (like she needed more of those), candy, and even out right begging. But Katie wasn't ready to hear it.<p>

She just felt like moping.

"You have to cheer up eventually, you know that right?"

After recovering from being startled, Katie turned to see who was next to her. It was her sister, Miranda. Katie liked Miranda; she was her closest sister. She even took over head counselor for Katie when she was away at school.

Katie just sighed. "Yeah, I know. Eventually."

Miranda just smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Though, we might be able to help you more if you just told us what Travis did…"

Katie stared at Miranda in shock. She never mentioned that it was Travis that was getting her down (more like what Travis had done), so how exactly did she know?

"Oh, don't give me that look. Up until last week, you came back from kitchen duty practically glowing with happiness. Now, you just come back looking thoroughly depressed. Couple that with the fact every time Travis tries to talk to you, you ignore him; it's not hard to notice that something's wrong between you two."

Katie resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at her sister. But she held back; she had been spending way too much time with Travis and way too much time putting up with his childish ways.

"I'm fine; it's nothing." Katie replied. It was a pretty automatic response; she just didn't feel like talking about it.

"Katie Gardner, you are going to talk about it right now or I am going to take you to the Dionysus cabin for therapy. And well, do you really want that Katie?" Miranda asked, smirking.

Now Katie was confused, why the Dionysus cabin? "Um, why exactly would you take me to the cabin for the god of wine?"

"Because," Miranda said, her smirk widening, "he's also the god of insanity. Perfect for you, if I do say so myself."

Katie picked up one of the green pillows resting on her bed, and proceeded to hit Miranda in the face with it. Nevertheless, she was laughing. Finally, Katie sighed contently; never underestimate a sibling's power to cheer you up.

The two sisters shared a quick smile before Miranda turned serious again.

"You're still not off the hook. Tell me Katie: what happened?" Miranda asked, concern laced into her voice (and also present on her face).

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.

"I was headed towards the kitchen so I could do the dishes with Travis. I was actually in a pretty good mood, if I'm being honest, though I have no clue as to why." Katie started, and then looked at Miranda.

For whatever reason, Miranda was grinning. "Okay, what next?"

"Well, when I came in, Travis had already started on the dishes. I was so shocked, I-I mean; he's so lazy! Half the time, I end up doing most of them myself. So, there he was, just doing the dishes, humming quietly to himself, also unlike Travis. He's usually so loud.

"So, I walked over, you know, giving him a suspicious look and everything. And, then, when I….when I looked in the sink…" Katie's voice broke off, and she was clearly unhappy.

The other daughter of Demeter's frown was quickly wiped off her face. "What was it, Katie?"

"Well. You know those gloves… that my parents had gotten me?" Katie asked, her voice had grown quiet.

A look of realization crossed over Miranda's face. She knew exactly what Katie was talking about. A few weeks after Katie had been claimed, both her parents—mortal and goddess—had worked together on a present for Katie. Not only were they great for gardening (they were charmed so they the dirt couldn't ruin them), but they also doubled as Katie's weapons, two celestial bronze daggers.

"So… what happened?" Miranda asked, her voice an interesting mix of curiosity and pity.

"He was using them to wash the dishes, Miranda! That ruined them! They don't work; I don't know how, but the water broke they're magic. They're just gloves now, and they're ruined! Leather does not react well to cotton." Katie was pretty hysterical, and Miranda could understand.

It was horrible. Katie had loved those gloves. It was probably comparable to how Percy felt about riptide; they were the only weapons Katie used. Ever.

"Oh, Katie. Come here." Miranda said softly, opening her arms for the upset daughter of Demeter, who accepted them graciously.

"Don't worry. It'll be okay. Don't worry." Miranda said, keeping her voice soothing. "But Katie, what are you going to do now about your weapons? About Travis?"

Katie tensed and the replied shakily, "Well, I'll have to get new weapons. And I figured what I was going to do with Travis was obvious. Once I get the new weapons, Travis will be the first person I test them on."

Miranda wasn't really sure why people claimed that Demeter's kids were non-aggressive. Next to Clarisse (and maybe Annabeth), Katie was the most destructive person Miranda knew. And even though she knew she should continue to comfort her sister, Miranda smirked. Travis so had it coming, and well, Miranda had already decided she was going to be there to watch whatever it was he was going to get.

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><p><strong>Okay, guys. Review and give me your thoughts. <strong>

**Also, how the story goes from here is pretty much a mystery to me, so if you have any ideas: give them! Haha, thanks. **

**Alrighty, so bye. (:**


	15. Ideas, Conversations, and Geography

** I'm alive... and more importantly, so is this story! **

**IMPORTANT: READ: My laptop broke. Yeah, it fell off my bed and is currently being fixed. So, for now, expect updates less often because it requires me to use either my sister's or my mom's laptop. Also, until I get my laptop back (in 5-10 days) I won't be updating Reactions or The Word on Percy Jackson. Yeah, I'm sorry about that too. However, The Word on Percy Jackson has a pretty detailed plan that's on my laptop and if I just try and ignore it and write a random chapter, it might mess up the rest of the story. Similarly, the next few chapters for Reactions are already typed up and I really doubt I'll be able to whip up something better now (and I really like the ones I've already typed). I'm super sorry, and promise to update all my stories once my laptop is back in my custody. **

**Okay, so, on with the story! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>It had been two weeks since 'the incident'. Kitchen duty for Katie and Travis was over, which, consequently, meant that Travis' only excuse to talk to Katie was over also (though, it's not like she ever actually talked back). No matter how hard he tried to apologize or somehow redeem himself to Katie, she just wouldn't accept it. According to the mentioned daughter of Demeter, she was no longer mad, just not in the mood to deal with Travis.<p>

Not only did that depress the thieving son of Hermes, but having Aphrodite visit him occasionally in his dreams—to yell at him about not being romantic enough in getting Katie back—only furthered him in his bad mood.

Furthermore, Travis finally accepted his feelings for Katie—though Katie was still stubbornly denying hers for Travis (she was also teaching geography to Aphrodite; the love goddess just refused to believe that The Nile River was in Egypt, not Rome). So, Travis' mood was not improving, and well, if the person you liked wouldn't even look at you, you'd be a bit temperamental too. Though, it Travis' case, it's probably a little more that _a bit_.

Finally, when both Travis and Katie snapped at their siblings (Travis at Connor; Katie at Miranda) because of inconsequential reasons, well, the mentioned siblings finally decided that something had to be done. Miranda didn't want to see a glum Katie any more (she didn't even follow through with attacking Travis with her new daggers), and Connor wanted his partner in crime back (they hadn't pulled a prank or anything since 'the incident').

Ironically, the two came up with similar ideas for helping their depressed siblings. Connor decided it was time have a little chat with Katie, while Miranda deiced it was time to threaten, er… _talk _to Travis.

Miranda found Travis sitting under a tree by a strawberry field. It wasn't hard to find him, since the son of Hermes could usually be found at this spot, just staring at the strawberry fields. Though, one can only _imagine _why.

Miranda sat down next to him, but he didn't seem to notice. Finally, she decided to say something.

"I know you like Katie."

Well, that got his attention. The poor boy's eyes widened and he nearly jumped ten feet in the air. It was so funny, Miranda had to try and cover her snickering with a cough.

"W-What are you talking about?" Travis stuttered back.

"Oh, don't even try that Travis. You've been sulking about Katie for the last two weeks. It's beyond obvious." Miranda couldn't help it; she was smirking.

"Whatever." Travis finally said, avoiding Miranda's gaze, with a scowl present on his face.

"The point is: you're going to have to do something to make it up to her so she'll forgive you. You hurt her, and destroyed her favorite (and only) weapons. I can't really tell you what to do, only that you're going to have to do it quick, because once given the opportunity, Katie will hold a grudge about practically anything. "

Miranda would swear she heard Travis mumble '_stupid daughter of Demeter, sounds exactly like Aphrodite. Why won't all these women leave me alone'_ under his breath. She wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about. Maybe the heat was getting to Travis… or maybe he was finally going crazy from sharing a cabin with Connor. Though, knowing Connor, it was probably the latter.

"And don't worry; even though she won't admit it, Katie likes you too." And before Travis could even react, Miranda was already up and jogging away.

He thought about her words for a while. Finally, he jumped up and raised his hand in triumph, "I'VE GOT IT!"

And then he was off.

Connor walked to the Demeter cabin, rubbing the back of his neck – a habit he had grow accustomed to doing when he was nervous. And boy, was Connor nervous. He had no idea how Katie was going to react to seeing him. She quite possibly might throw a cactus in his face… or something.

Connor knocked on the door of the temperamental daughter of Demeter and braced himself for the worst...

…and he found a kid about nine years old standing at the door. Connor smiled; how bad could a little kid be?

"What do you want?" the kid asked, frowning up at Connor. For a moment, he was taken aback by the bluntness, but he just sighed. All kids of Demeter must be a pain…

Connor sighed. "Can I talk to Katie?"

"Yeah… whatever." The boy said, and then turned so he was facing inside the cabin, "Katie! There's a boy here for you! Is he your boyfriend? I hope not; he's annoying."

Connor blushed. Why did this kid have to have such a big mouth?

Katie appeared at the door, visibly confused. When she saw Connor, her eyes narrowed visibly.

_Oh no_, Connor though. _Here comes the cactus_.

Though, after a minute, Katie's eyes widened and then she sighed in relief. _Huh, guess she thought I was Travis_.

"Connor… what are you doing here?" Katie asked, sporting a look of confusion.

"Eh, let's take a walk," Connor suggested, but Katie didn't exactly look happy about it. "Unless you want to talk in front of him."

Connor pointed to the little boy, who just stuck his tongue out. After looking at the kid, who Connor figured was an annoying little brother (guess that means they have something in common); Katie practically shoved Connor out the door.

They didn't walk for very long; just to get out the strawberry fields, with Katie walking in front. Abruptly, she turned around and glared.

"What do you want Connor?"

"No need to be so feisty…"

Katie just sighed. "What do you want?"

"…Just to give you some advice." Connor replied, flashing Katie a smile. His confidence wasn't exactly assured when Katie made a face halfway between a grimace and a smirk.

"And that would be?"

"Forgive Travis."

"No."

"Please."

"Nope."

"I'll tell you why he did it."

Now Katie looked confused. "Did what?"

"Why, the majority of his pranks, of course."

That, at least, seemed to grab hold of Katie's interest."…why?"

By now, Connor was talking slow, as if talking to a five year old (which didn't impress Katie too much).

"He likes you."

And with that, Connor smirked, and was off. Because, maybe he didn't really convince her to forgive Travis, but at least now she'd be more inclined too. Because Katie didn't need to say what she was thinking when Connor said that Travis liked her; it was written all over her face.

She liked him too.

And well, that just makes it all the more interesting, now doesn't it? Or at least… that's what Connor thought.

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><p><strong>Heh. So, what did you think? Review and gimme your thoughts. Again, sorry for leaving you all for a yeah, go ahead and throw some tomatoes (though I prefer strawberries). <strong>

**I almost considered putting a teaspoon's dose worth of Connor/Miranda in this story. But I decided that one Hermes/Demeter pair was enough. **

**Also, anyone else think my writing style has changed ever-so-slightly? I do... though I might just be paranoid. **

**Thanks, bye. (:**


	16. Working Some Magic

**Hey! Mkay, I realize I have a lot of explaining to do. The best I can give you guys is a combination of a broken laptop (meaning a wiped hard drive), Spring Break, and a temporary loss of inspiration for the Percy Jackson fandom had left me not updating for... a while. However, I have not given up on any of my stories and I won't... I hate abandoned fanfictions. **

**Anyways, thanks to those who don't hate hate me and will still read this story. Also, I have only a "guestimation" as to how much longer this story will be, though it's probably somewhere around 20ish chapters. I'm going to finish this story once _The Word on Percy Jackson_ is completed, which should be in the next few days since the last two chapters are already written and just need polishing. But you people deserved a chapter, so here it is. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>It wasn't long since having one of his <em>rare<em> genius ideas (not related to pranks, of course) that Travis found himself standing in front of the Hephaestus cabin holding a pair of tacky green and pink gloves, ready to see if the forging demigods could work some magic.

When he opened up the door, he was greeted with the sight of Nyssa, who glared at him fiercely. Apparently, she hadn't forgiven him for the make-over that he had convinced the Aphrodite cabin into giving her… against her will. On the plus side, the make-over had given her face a natural glow and her hair a soft shine.

"Uh…hey, Nyssa. Long time no see." Travis said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck—an old habit for when he got nervous. He almost chuckled; he did it a lot when Katie confronted her after he pulled a prank on said daughter of Demeter.

"Not long enough." was the curt reply. Yeah, she definitely hadn't forgiven him yet. "What do you want Travis?"

'Well, I was wondering if you knew how to fix magical items… Like weapons, the ones that turn from an item into a weapon." Travis responded, more determined. He was here for Katie, and if that meant eventually getting beat up by a daughter of Hephaestus, then so be it.

This, at least, seemed to throw the muscular girl off a bit, making her slightly less scary (not slightly). "Why?"

"Well, these used to be Katie's twin daggers. And they… somehow ended up in the kitchen sink in the water. I'm not sure how that could have broken the magic connection or whatever on them, but now their just gloves. Is it fixable?" He did his best to explain without, er, letting Nyssa know how they ended up in the kitchen sink.

Talking about weapons seemed to completely change Nyssa. She held herself up higher, and she seemed more in her element. A little less scary and a little more like a person. "Actually, you can. But it's pretty difficult. Maybe this will teach you not to prank people by messing with their weapons.

"Also, the connection was most likely broken because the water wasn't just water. Seeing at they usually use lava, Chiron probably 'magic-ed' up the water to add more cleaning properties. Because they were both magical, the magic cancelled out when the came in contact with each other for an extended period time, rendering both object non-magical, making the weapons just gloves and the disinfected water just water."

At Travis' shocked face, Nyssa smirked. Regaining his composure, Travis replied, "Alright, and yeah, I know. I'll never mess with weapons again. Now how do we fix them?"

"Well first, I have to reforge the weapons. This part, I can do. Luckily for you, I have a mold that is almost an exact replica of Katie's old weapons, so there wont be an awkward period where she has to learn a new feel for the weapon. However, after the forgery, the weapons and the magical items must be linked together again. It's a lengthy process, and that'll be on you to complete."

"But I have no idea how to do it!" Travis protested, flailing his arms around just... _a bit_.

"But I do, so just do I say, got it?" Nyssa commanded, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at Travis.

"…Fine…so what do we do?" Travis asked.

"Okay, well first, I have to reforge her daggers. Since their twin daggers, this might take a while, so just come back tomorrow. I'll tell you what to do then. You might want to bring some supplies though; you'll need to leave camp for some things."

"Uh, okay."

"And Travis?"

Travis turned to Nyssa, whose expression had softened, maybe just a fraction of a degree.

"Yes?"

"Don't worry, we'll fix it."

Travis gave her a fleeting smirk before leaving, going to pack his bag.

Travis had spent all day running around and gathering supplies (including stealing a few from the Camp store, not that Chiron needed to know). Finally, long after the sun had set below the horizon, he had gone back to his cabin, collapsed on his bed, and settled into a deep sleep. So of course, a dream had found him. Couldn't a demigod catch a break?

_When Travis opened his eyes, he was in a very beautiful garden. There were flowers of all colors and they gave off intoxicating aromas. When Travis looked up, he was once again staring at a goddess, just not the one he suspected, considering it had been Aphrodite for the past two weeks. It was Demeter, and Travis really couldn't stop the fear that was forming in the pit of his stomach. She didn't look happy (though, to be fair, Travis had never seen her happy). _

_She didn't say anything, just glared at him. Finally, she reached out a hand and handed him a tiny jar. It was filled with some sort of clear liquid. There was barely any of the mysterious liquid, and it was attacked to a chord… a necklace. But why? _

"_You'll need it soon. It's a necklace so hopefully you won't loose it. Good luck… Travis." _

_Travis took one last look at the garden, and even though he'd never admit it aloud, Travis liked Katie's better. And then the dream ended._

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><p>Katie was looking at around for Travis everywhere, but she just couldn't find him! Leo had told her that he was at his cabin, but since Leo seemed to be trying to resist the urge to burst out laughing, Katie just didn't believe him. She had looked all around, even going as far to ask Connor, but he seemed to have idea either.<p>

Even after searching all day (and going to the Hermes cabin several times), she still couldn't find him. It was infuriating. The son of Hermes had been bothering her for the past two weeks, and the one time she needed him, he was M.I.A. Katie sighed, did she always have such awful luck?

How could she forgive Travis (and maybe just confess certain… things) if she couldn't find him?

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><p><strong>Alright, so did you like it? I realize Katie's perspective is really short, but it was supposed to be. We just need an idea of what the girl is doing, just so we can see how it compares to Travis' little journey at the moment. So, uh, review and tell me what you think. <strong>

**See you soon, Bu-bye. (: **


	17. The Beginning of Something Dangerous

**Hey guys; here's the next chapter! It's kind of a filler, sorry for that. However, I didn't want to start... something in this chapter, not the mention the fact that there was _a lot_ of explaining in this chapter. Hope you enjoy this.**

**And thank you! This is to anyone who reads or reviews or adds this story to their favorites... anything! I love you all! You people are the best, and so forgiving (sorry...again). You all seemed to really enjoy my last chapter, so I hope you like this one also! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis woke up unusually early (with the magic bottle around his neck, also), even before the sun itself had made an appearance (though, Apollo was a notoriously lazy person, so it could just be that). Not long after he was up, he found himself standing in front of the Hephaestus cabin for the second time in 24 hours. A feat in and of itself, considering that it was more than he had ever been at Hephaestus cabin for all his years at camp, combined. And it had absolutely nothing to do with his ever-so-small fear of fire, nothing at all.<p>

He knocked once, and then a second time. The door opened slowly, and Travis found him face to face with a not only sleep but very grumpy looking Leo.

Smiling sheepishly, Travis asked, "Nyssa around?"

Leo, who Travis had deemed as not fully awake, blinked. "I though you were into Katie…?"

Travis felt his face heat up, no doubt turning a bright red. "It-it's not like that! I had her make a weapon for me last night, and I came by to see if she's finished."

Leo seemed to be turning more coherent by the second and just squinted at the son of Hermes before saying, "So early?"

"Well, I have a 'long, hard task' ahead of me; I might as well start it early."

"Alright," Leo finally caved, "I'll go get her. But might I remind you, I have freaky fire powers, and even I'm afraid to wake Nyssa up in the morning. If she's grumpy, the blame's going to you."

"Whatever you say, Repair Boy," Travis watched in amusement as Leo scowled; he now saw why Piper enjoyed calling Leo such a name. Watching the usually cheerful boy scowl was an amusing sight.

However, before Leo went to get his half-sister, he turned to Travis and informed him, "Katie was looking for you yesterday; you might want to go find her. I don't think she believed me when I told her you were at my cabin."

Travis was torn. He was seriously considering running of towards the Demeter Cabin. It was the first time since the incident that Katie had willingly sought out Travis. Even if it was just for her to yell at him, Travis desperately wanted to talk to the girl.

In the end, he just sighed and replied, "Thanks, I'll find her later."

Nodding, Leo disappeared back inside the cabin appearing moments later with Nyssa. She, at least, didn't seem grumpy.

"…I'll leave you two alone, then."

There was an awkward silence before Travis anxiously asked, "Are they finished?"

Nyssa smiled before producing two sheathed daggers from behind her back. "They came out even better than I expected. Take a look."

Travis gingerly lifted one of the daggers out of Nyssa's arms and unsheathed it. With a gentle _swoosh, _the dagger was free and glistening in what little sunlight that was starting to shine over the horizon. On the side of the sharp blade delicate flower designs were carefully etched into the shiny metal. The grip was a smooth brown leather that comfortably fit in Travis' hand. It was beautiful… in a destructive, monster killing weapon kind of way.

"Woah…" Travis couldn't help but say.

"Yes, it is quite nice, isn't it?" Travis didn't miss the smug pride in Nyssa's voice, but chose not to comment. It was a really nice blade, after all.

"Okay, you said we need to reconnect these to the gloves, right? How do I do that?"

"Like I said, it's a pretty lengthy process that might require you leaving camp for a few days. First, you need to magically enhance both objects. That can usually be done by bringing a non-magical object in contact with a magical object for an extended period of time, allowing some of the magic to rub off, per say." Nyssa explained, staring intently at Travis, making sure she got what he was saying.

"Like if I take Percy sword and touch it to Katie's dagger?" Travis asked curiously. It would be nice if it were that simple, even though Percy wasn't exactly at camp at the moment…

"Not exactly. Even though Percy's sword is indeed a magical object, much like Katie's used to be, there isn't enough magic within it to charge another object. However, I do know somewhere you can magically enhance both objects, but it's pretty dangerous…" Nyssa looked at Travis wearily, silently questioning him if he were up to it.

"I'll do it." Travis responded instantly, not even giving the matter a though. He was doing this for Katie, and he didn't particularly care how it had to be done.

"Alright, as you know, in the world of Greek mythology, it's not that hard to come across magical items, but you need something with enough magical potential to make another object possess magic itself. Considering the fact that Olympus is closed and you can't just go up to the market and pay to have it done for you, we're going to have improvise."

Of course, there was an easy route. Travis just couldn't use it. Still he nodded, letting her know to go on.

"So, you'll just have to go to the only other magically enhanced place I can think of at the moment."

For whatever reason, Travis was feeling apprehensive. Even still, he asked the one question that he knew was giving him said uneasy feelings. "Where?"

"The River Lethe in the Underworld."

"What?" Travis couldn't keep the shock out of his voice. Even more embarrassingly, Travis couldn't keep it from rising at least two octaves either.

"The River Lethe is traditionally used to remove memories, yes, but if you dip both the gloves and the daggers in the river, it will magically charge them. I can't, however, tell you whether or not it will also give the weapons certain magical properties, such as memory loss upon being cut by the blade."

Travis was in awe, "Can that really happen?"

"It's quite possible, though if it does, the magical properties will most likely only be temporary. You should probably leave soon, the quicker you leave and come back, the better."

Travis straightened up, "You're right. I'll see you soon, Nyssa."

"Bye Travis," and as he walking away Nyssa gave her final pieces of advice, "Do not, under any circumstances, touch the water in the Lethe; you will loose your memory, all of it! Also, hurry back as quickly as possible after dipping the daggers in the Lethe. The magic is only temporary, and the weapons have to be connected before it wares off."

"Got it." But by now, Travis was so far away from the cabin that he was more talking to himself than Nyssa.

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><p><strong>So, thoughts? Comments? Now that you know Travis is going n a quest per say, do you want Nico to make an appearance on his quest (considering his destination)? The only reason I ask is because I think it will be a little boring with only Travis for the entire thing, and who doesn't love Nico? Come on, it's Nico!<strong>

**As for the magical enhancing stuff, I pretty much just stole what I knew about magnetizing a nonmagnetic object. There are certain differences, but it's much the same. Can the River Lethe make an object magical? No clue, but I think my explanation makes sense enough. And no, the bottle that Travis found in his dreams was not water from the river. It's for something else entirely...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please give me any thoughts/suggestions. See you soon! **


	18. False Conversations

**Hey everyone! I bring you chapter 18! I hope you like it! Oh, and you all wanted Nico so he'll be here soon!**

**I can't decide how I want to go about Travis' quest. It obviously has to be entertaining, but realistic (in a _going on a quest to create magic items_ kind of way). So, any suggestions? requests? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>Katie sat under a maple tree near the strawberry fields contemplating the news she had just heard.<p>

"_Travis has gone on a secret quest," Leo had told her, "we're not sure when he'll be back though…"_

The words echoed around in her head, leaving the young demigod with a sense of dread.

Why did Travis have to leave now? And why was he going on a secret mission? Olympus was closed, and they had no new information on the Roman camp or a new prophecy. Though, if the quest was a secret, then a new prophecy could have been given in secret also… but had Chiron ever kept a prophecy from them?

Katie sighed and hit her head against the tree, and then promptly hissed in pain when she realized that the tree was not only hard, but hurt to hit your head against. Go figure.

Still, she couldn't stop think about how messed up her situation was. The daughter of Demeter had finally come to terms with her feelings for Travis. How being around him made her stomach flutter and always left her a little breathless (though, to be fair, Katie had always assumed the latter was because she was always yelling at Travis).However, now that she was finally ready to confess her feelings, or at the very least forgive the son of Hermes about the whole weapons fiasco, the boy had to run off on some secret mission.

Katie would like to have thought that she had the worst luck a demigod could possibly have, but knowing Percy for the last few years (and remembering his current situation), she decided that Percy was the one who currently bore (and deserved) that title.

On top of all this, she couldn't keep herself from worrying. Although Travis was capable fighter, he didn't always know when it was time to get serious. And from what Katie could tell, the idiot went alone, meaning there was no one there to knock some sense into him when he needed it.

Balling up her fists, Katie stood up and jogged to the Hermes cabin, looking for some answers. If anyone knew where Travis was, it'd be Connor.

When she knocked on the door, a little girl (who could be no older than ten or eleven) opened it and leaned against the door frame.

Smiling at the girl, Katie asked, "Is Connor here?"

The girl, who Katie could now see was chewing gum, blew a bubble and popped it. She was wearing a frown and appraised Katie, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

"If you're his girlfriend," the daughter of Hermes paused to blow another bubble, "then Connor can do way better."

Katie was now offended… what did she do to the girl? Sighing (and thinking of her own annoying little brother), Katie repeated nicely (though now it was a little more forced), "Is Connor here?"

"Yeah, but that'll be 1 drachma for me to go get him," The girl replied, holding out her hand expectantly.

Sighing once again, Katie dug around in her pocket before pulling out a drachma and placing it in the girl's hand. Once the young Hermes daughter got her money, the girl slammed the door in Katie's face.

After a few moments, Katie heard some yelling that sounded somewhat like: "Connor, there's this chick here for you. And she has an attitude!"

Katie frowned; she was the one with the attitude?

A few moments later the door opened once again to reveal Connor, who burst out laughing when he saw Katie. Turning his head around, he replied (to the little girl, Katie assumed), "Yeah, she does have an attitude problem, but if you put her near some flowers or dirt or something, she usually calms down."

He then turned back to Katie and started rubbing his neck, seemly trying to dissect how mad she was at his for his comment. Deciding, for once, to skip the yelling, Katie cut to the point.

"Where's Travis?" Katie asked, crossing her arms across her chest and giving Connor her 'serious face'.

To her surprise, the son of Hermes only sighed and ran a hand through his curly, brown hair. "I wish I knew…"

"You mean he didn't tell me?"

"The idiot was gone before I was even awake."

Although Connor was trying just to seem mad, Katie could tell that he was honestly worried about his brother. Where in Hades did that idiot go?

"I'm sorry, Connor." Katie finally said, giving him a look of pity. She tried to imagine one of her siblings (and Connor was Travis' brother by mortal and godly parent) just leaving one morning for a quest that she didn't know about or didn't know when they might be back. She couldn't.

"…It's fine."

Though neither of them said it, they both could tell the conversation was over. Connor closed the door, and Katie turned away, sighed once again.

Eventually she headed back over to the strawberry fields, only to sit under the same tree that she had been before having her conversation with Connor.

Katie leaned her head against the tree and stayed that way until dinner was sounded, only one thought in her head: just where did Travis _go_?

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><p>After ending his conversation with the feisty daughter of Demeter, Connor leaned against the door a let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.<p>

Turning to his younger sister (the same one that Katie had talked to), he grinned. "I did it... maybe I should be an actor. You know, come to think of it, Travis never appreciated my acting skills. Maybe if he falls into the River Lethe, I can retrain him and make him my monkey minion or something..."

His sister wasn't paying attention in the slightest, instead looking at the Drachma she had just gotten from Katie.

Connor just sighed. Travis had better be back soon.

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><p><strong>Okay, so yeah, I'm sure most of you wanted the quest to get started, but I figured it's only realistic for Katie to have a reaction to Travis just randomly leaving camp... so this is it! And yeah, Connor knows. He's Travis' brother, so it worked out that way. And now I have two chapters with little short character parts at the end. So thoughts? Comments? Concerns? <strong>

**The little bratty Hermes girl? Remember the little Demeter boy? Some people requested a little Hermes kid too and she fit perfectly in right here... so yeah, never expect to see her again. **

**Anyways, next chapter starts Travis' quest; I'm excited! See you soon!**


	19. The Giant Rock of Greatness

**I can't believe we're almost at the 20 chapter mark. I had originally planned for this fic to only have about 20 chapters, but obviously, it's going to be more than that... though I'm not sure how many. Sorry for the short break. This chapter was a little difficult to write, seeing as I had to be both interesting and accurate.**

**Also, I'm not sure if I told you guys yet, but once I finish this story, I'm posting a Leo/Reyna fic. Along with that, I've had a bunch of great ideas for other stories based around ideas for smaller characters. However, there's a tiny problem: I'm not used to writing their characters (sans Leo). So, I think I'm going to post a series of one-shots (all under one story) trying to "break in(?)" to characters to my writing style. Whad'ya think? **

****Random Question: Did anyone else see The Avengers? If so, what did you think of it? (I'm not a big superhero-movie person, but I freaking loved it!)****

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis stopped out of the camp borders and stared at the country road in front of him. How exactly was he supposed to get the Central park (the location of the Door of Orpheus)?<p>

The son of Hermes had asked Chiron if Argus could just drive him there, but since it was not a camp issued quest and it was winter so Strawberry funds from Summer was low, Chiron told him he'd have to just make due himself. Not to mention Argus was much more useful helping out with the Argo II than he was driving around some random Hermes kid (Chiron hadn't actually said the last part, but Travis had gotten the message).

Since he obviously couldn't walk all the way to Central Park, Travis got a much better idea. Hotwiring the camp's van!

He looked at white van in front of him, and down at the tools in his hands and cursed. Though Travis didn't want to admit to it, out of two of them, Connor was better at hotwiring a car; Travis was usually the one who stole the tools needed to do it.

The son of Hermes looked at the old beat-up van and shrugged, if he didn't do this then he'd be walking. Though, remembering last time when Connor and him got caught while hotwiring the camp van (and the gods-awful punishment they had endured afterwards), walking just might've been the lesser of two evils.

"Well," Travis said to himself, "too late to turn back now."

First thing Travis did was pop the hood; then Travis looked for the red coil wire and the battery. Once locating both of them, he fell into the familiar rhythm of doing something not only dangerous, but illegal. _Good times_.

Not long after, Travis was sitting in the driver's seat, gunning the engine. He smirked.

Turning on the radio (and hearing the familiar sound of ACDC), Travis said to himself, "And Connor thinks I'm not good at these types of things."

And then the demigod realized he had talked to himself twice in the last ten minutes, and resisted the urge to duck tape his mouth shut so it wouldn't happen again. (He wouldn't want anyone to think he was crazy, now would he?)

Shifting the car into drive, Travis drove the car from its spot next to the big house, and started driving up the hill. The hill was fairly steep and Travis suspected there was some sort of magic helping the car out, but he didn't question it.

Once at the top of the hill, Travis started inching down, not suddenly having the urge to fly down the hill and crash into a tree across the rode. After he got down the hill, Travis turned onto the road and started the long drive to New York, Central Park to be exact.

Travis actually got about half an hour of peaceful driving before things started going wrong (which, to be honest, might actually have been a record).

It started when the camp van began acting funny. First, the radio started randomly changing stations, so that he went from listening to Green Day to some poppy song (if that wasn't a bad omen, then Travis didn't know what was). Then, the car started something that Travis could only describe as stuttering, as there was a slight pause about every ten feet.

It didn't exactly take Travis long to figure out what was wrong. Monsters always messed up technology; the chances that one was on his trail was almost certain. Looking out his side-mirror, Travis could clearly make out a hellhound hot on his tracks. The hellhound wasn't as big as Mrs. O'Leary, but Travis doubted it was friendly either.

He briefly considering stepping on it and trying to outrun the thing, but he doubted it would work. The hellhound was only gaining speed, and with the way the van was acting up, Travis wasn't exactly sure it was very reliable at the moment.

Sighing, the demigod considered his options. He could just stop and fight it on foot. However tempting that was, Travis decided against it. Even though the Battle of Manhattan gave Travis plenty of experience with monsters, hellhounds were still considerably dangerous and this one didn't look exactly nonviolent.

Smirking, Travis actually got an idea. First he pulled out his sword as rested it next to the window. Slowing the car down to about 25 mph, Travis let the hellhound catch up to him. Once the monster was right behind the car, Travis waited. He watched as the hellhound got into a familiar position and pounced.

With an awful screech, Travis jerked the van to the right whist simultaneously slowing down the van. The hellhound shot past him on the left with too much momentum to slow down. Travis took this as his opportunity to stab the hellhound as it sped past his window. Moments later, the hellhound was just dust in the wind.

He smirked again. And who said that only children of Athena were good with plans?

Looking out at his side-mirror again, Travis decided to speed up once more. He didn't see anymore monsters, but monsters weren't exactly staying down for long once killed and he didn't feel as if the hellhound was going to be out of commission for very long.

He needed to get the Central park fast. You know, so he could find the _much less_ dangerous Underworld and really get this quest started.

Only a few hours (and monsters) later, Travis had somehow managed to find a place near Central Park to ditch the camp van. Once he did, he soon was off to find the door of Orpheus. Travis wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting it to look like, but it sure as Hades wasn't what he found…

Travis stared at the big rock in front of him, unimpressed. It was the door of Orpheus, magically side-entrance to the Underworld. But Travis had a hard time believing it, since it just looked like a lumpy rock.

This was an entrance the Underworld? The great, dark kingdom where souls go after leaving their bodies? Call Travis crazy, but he was expecting something a bit more extravagant for such a place. It was just a rock. Still, it was his only way in (unless he wished to go all the way to California), so he would have to make due.

Staring as "The Giant Rock of Greatness" (as Travis so amazingly dubbed it), he scratched his head in confusion... How exactly was he supposed it open it?

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><p><strong>I looked up "How to Hot Wire a Car" and just put the first few steps into my story; sorry if it's inaccurate (this accuracy apology also applies to anything else including the car, I don't drive). So thoughts on the chapter? Any ideas for Travis' quest? By the way, Nico should make his appearance next chapter.<strong>

**Sorry if I offended anyone with the whole "Green Day and poppy music" stuff. It comes from growing up in a more alternative/rock household, and just my natural distaste for _most_ pop music. Again, I really didn't mean to offend anyone. Besides, I really just can't see Travis rocking out to Katy Perry or something. Oh, the "ACDC" thing was a reference to the Percy Jackson movie (in a sense), just saying. **

**Alrighty, well see you next chapter! **


	20. Hyperactive Satyrs and Bratty Kids

**Ergh, sorry for the long wait. Finals and a bunch of unforeseen stuff made writing this chapter take a bit longer than anyone really wanted. However, it's here now and I hope to update soon for the next chapter. And woohoo, chapter 20!**

**A bit thank you to anyone who reviewed my story! You guys are the best. **

**Capilla007: I love Green Day too, part of the reason it's in there. And I love Mayday Parade! Favorite song (by them)? And thanks for the review!**

**Kaite: Sorry for taking so long, like I said, my schedule has been more than peaceful lately. I'm glad you like my fanfiction, and thanks for the review!**

**SilverStoryOwl: Haha, "stupidly clever". For whatever reason, I found that phrase really funny. Thanks for the review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis was still staring at the rock thirty minutes later and was not any closer to figuring out how to open the Door of Orpheus than he was before. He had hit it, danced, and even chanted in what little Greek he could remember (though, Travis was pretty sure he said something along the lines of, "There's a cheese sandwich in my shoe").<p>

He was stumped.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that's not how you open it. Though I may be wrong; you do seem to have the situation perfectly under control, after all."

Whirling around to find where the distinctly sarcastic (and smug) voice had come from, Travis found himself face to face (or was it face to torso, considering how much shorter the boy was) with none other than Nico Di Angelo.

"Oh," he said, "it's you."

"It is, isn't it? You need music."

"What?"

"To open the Door of Orpheus, you need music. However, I don't really recommend going to the underworld; my dad has this things about not letting people, especially demigods, get out."

Travis blinked. He had considered the danger involved with such a quest several times before. But, like always, he seemed to have forgotten something largely important. The freaking god of the Underworld himself. How exactly did he miss _that_?

Nico smirked slightly. "You forgot there was a god down there that doesn't particularly like heroes, didn't you?"

"…No."

"Yeah, sure."

Travis had never spent any large sum of time around Nico, and he was suddenly grateful for such a thing. The kid was a brat.

"So," Travis started, "Hades is your dad, so you should know... Is there anyway for me to avoid him?"

"Well, as long as you don't get spotted by the furies, it's doubtful he'll ever even know of your presence in the Underworld. However, even still, it's pretty dangerous. I know of very few heroes who walk in there alive…" Nico trailed off, giving Travis a serious look.

"And?" Travis pressed, wanting to hear the rest of what the son of Hades had to say.

"And ever come back out again." Nico finished.

Looking back towards the rock, it suddenly looked a lot more sinister and unappealing. Travis felt his stomach lurched before he turned back to Nico.

His mouth dry, the son of Hermes asked, "Why don't you come with me?"

Nico blinked once. Twice. "What?"

"Just come to the underworld with me. It's your dad, so if we get caught, he might not kill me. Also, I think you might be of some help; I need to find the river Lethe, and I haven't the slightest idea how or where it is.

"On top of that, you actually know the Underworld. Wouldn't you just feel oh-so-guilty if I died there because I somehow lost my way or fell into a never-ending pit or something?"

Nico sighed audibly before taking on a resigned expression. "Fine, but you owe me one."

By the slight smirk on Nico's face, Trvis got the feeling that owing the little brat something was not going to be any good for him in any way, shape, or form.

"Fine." Travis agreed, "So… how exactly do you open it?"

"Like I said, you need music. There is probably a satyr around here somewhere that will play us a tune or something… unless, well, would you prefer to sing?" Nico question, his eyes dancing with slight amusement.

Apparently, Nico thought Travis couldn't sing. And he'd be right. Shaking his head, Travis said, "Let's just find the satyr."

Strangely (or maybe not) enough, it wasn't all that hard to find a satyr in Central Park. After about 15 minutes, Travis and Nico stumbled upon Jared, who after just a few minutes of talking, proved to be almost the exact opposite of Grover.

"Wow," Jared said, "you're going to the Underworld? Can I come? I had always wanted to go, but you know, who wants to go to the Underworld alone? It's so dark down there, but I bet there's loads of adventure… do you think we'll run into Hades?"

As the satyr continued to ramble on, Travis decided that he needed a way to make sure that Jared never, ever accompanied him to the Underworld. However, before he could make up an excuse, Nico beat him to it.

"Jared," Nico stated, effectively cutting off the hyperactive satyr. "As much as Travis and I would love to have you come to the Underworld with us, it's just not a safe place for satyrs. It's underground and there aren't really any plants. It'd be best if you stayed up here."

Jared visibly deflated. "Well, okay, but you better take pictures for me!"

"…Okay." Nico agreed, slight confusion settling on his face.

Seeing as the conversation was over, Jared took this as a good time to take out his reed pipes. As he started playing, Travis watched as a look of recognition crossed over Nico's pace. Apparently, he'd heard this tune before.

"You've been through this way before?" Travis asked, glancing at Nico.

"Yeah," Nico replied and then looked a bit uncomfortable. "This is the entrance Percy and I took when he went to bathe in the River Styx."

Now Travis could understand the expression donning Nico's face. Ever since his disappearance, Percy was always a slightly unsettling topic, seeing as they had no idea how the son of Poseidon was doing.

"Oh." Travis said. What else was there to say?

Travis turned back to the now open entrance to the underworld. He looked through and saw a set of narrow, dark stairs leading down. Looking around, he noticed Jared had disappeared. Strange.

"Well," Nico started, also looking at the tunnel. "I think it's about time we got going."

"Okay," Travis agreed, but then he paused. "Do you think Jared was serious about taking photos? I hope not; I don't have a camera."

Nico shot him a disbelieving look. "Focus."

"Yeah, yeah."

And then they started down to the Underworld. After they both entered the pathway, the rock slid shut behind the two demigods, and everything went black.

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><p><strong>Sorry, it chapter is a little charter than I wanted it to be. But I'm not exactly sure how everything is going to go down in the Underworld and I wanted to write the entire ordeal before posting it (and possibly seperating it into more than one chapter). Also, sorry if Nico is OOC. So, review and gimme your thoughts? <strong>

**Jared? Well, I needed a satyr and he was as good as any. I tried to make him different from at the satyr we currently know from the Percy Jackson (and Heroes of Olympus) series. On top of that, he disappeared. Future trouble? or maybe he just went back to where they found him in Central Park? **

**So, hopefully, I'll see you soon. But first, I have to reread part of the demigod files, if only to remember how to get to the River Lethe. See ya! **


	21. It Takes Two to Tango

**Hey everyone! I'm happy to say that this chapter was much easier to produce than the last one. Maybe it's Nico; I love that kid. He makes me want to do a Nico centered fic. However, I have so many projects in work right now, I doubt it would ever get finished. Anyways, here it chapter 21! I hope you enjoy it. By the way, this story will probably be about 25 chapters, making it my longest story by almost double, wow! **

**In relation to this story, how do you feel about a sequel? I've actually been entertaining the thought for a while and I have a sorta-halfway formulated idea for it. I'm making no promises; however, if I was able to do one, would you want one?**

**cinderella204: Yeah, I get what you're saying concerning Nico's personality. The way I see it, people act differently depending on who they're with. The situations we saw him in with TLO and SoN required a lot of seriousness, but I doubt he's going to be as mature around someone like Travis. Thansk for the review! **

**Capilla: That certainly is a possibility (; Thanks, I'm glad you like how I did Nico's character. My favorite Mayday Parade song is probably _The End_; I just love that song. Thanks for the review! **

**Katerina Riley: I love that idea! I really want to put it in the story... maybe next chapter? Thanks for the review! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>Travis wasn't one to plan ahead. However, he couldn't help but be thankful that he carried enough sense within himself to bring a flashlight in his bag. Within a few moments, the pitch-black staircase was flooded with streams of light. Looking around, Travis almost snorted in amusement. The staircase they were currently occupying looked like a scene from a horror movie. However, upon remembering that most horror movies end in either everyone dying or only one person living, his amusement was quickly lost.<p>

Beside him, Travis observed Nico wince. Exactly how often did that kid manage to get out and in the sunlight? Maybe he was like a vampire and he couldn't be exposed to sunlight without burning up? Though, Nico was just out in the sunlight. Unless**—**

Unfortunately, Travis was brought out of his musings by the vampire-suspect himself.

"Sadly, the River Lethe happens to be practically all the way on the other side of the Underworld. The quickest route that I know of is through the Fields of Punishment, so I hope you don't have a weak stomach." Nico explained.

"G-got it." the son of Hermes replied, stuttering slightly at the thought of what torture could lie in the Fields of Punishment…no pranking, probably a lot of cabin cleaning, and no shaving cream… absolutely horrifying!

However, the studder was also a reaction from the reminder of what he was doing. Travis was in the Underworld going to some random river in hopes that fixing the weapons in his bag will get Katie to forgive him. He wasn't just bantering with Nico, and he certainly wasn't safe. In fact, there was a pretty good chance that they were just going to get caught and killed. If someone had told Travis this was going to be the affect of having Kitchen Duty with Katie, Travis would have laughed in said person's face (and then most likely sign him or her up for the nearest insane asylum).

"You know," Nico said, cast a sideways glance at Travis, "the last time I was at the River Lethe, I was with Percy and Thalia."

Travis froze a second, before he continued walking. "Really? Why?"

"This huge mess with the Sword of Hades. Long story short: Percy, Thalia, and I had to go find it with using a magic flower GPS. We had to cross the River Lethe; Percy had almost lost his memories." Though the story was told with what Travis assumed was nonchalance, he could hear the underlying worry when Nico mentioned Percy. "Kind of ironic, now that I think about it…"

Sparing Nico a glance, Travis chuckled without humor. "Yeah, it kind of is."

And with that, the conversation was over.

It didn't take long for them to descend the staircase. It was slippery and extremely steep, and there was one close call where Travis slipped. Nonetheless, he managed to regain his footing before falling down the stairs and into the Underworld.

When they did reach the bottom, Travis looked around, appraising the Underworld. Taking in the dead willows and overuse of the colors black and gray, Travis couldn't wait to be able to make his way back into the world above.

Out of the corner of his eye, Travis saw Nico glance at him, most likely searching for a reaction.

Turning to Nico, Travis did his best to mimic his voice to one that could pass for an interior designer. "One word: color. Would it kill Hades to add some to this place? Just think, _Summer Yellow_ would take the word 'depressing' right out of it! Not to mention the trees; dead willows are so last year. Maybe some Maple trees. Now that would add some cheerful to this place…"

Nico raised an eyebrow and snorted in amusement. "I don't know; I kind of like it. At least my dad never has trouble with solicitors."

Travis chuckled drying in amusement. "No kidding, I doubt many come to the underworld to sell insurance… now where's the Fields of Punishment?"

"Past the main gate. I can shadow-travel us so we're behind it to avoid the security system. However, I don't think I can take both of us all the way to the River Lethe." Nico explained.

As far as Travis could tell (and he was a genius, so don't question it), the plan was pretty legit, but ne thing was bothering him. "There are shadows in the Underworld?"

The question seemed to amuse the son of Hades. He took on a thoughtful façade before saying, "It's not so much that there are shadows… more like the entire underworld is a shadow."

He took a minute to ponder this. "Creepy."

Nico shrugged. "Just the way my dad likes it. Anyways, I'm assuming you're never shadow-travelled, unless you know another child or Hades or you're acquainted with a hellhound…"

"Well actually," Travis interrupted, "I got acquainted with a hellhound on the way here. But it was the _I'm-sticking-my-sword-through-you_ kind of acquainting."

"Anyways," Nico continued, ignoring Travis' little anecdote. "It's going to feel weird, to put simply. Just don't throw up after we're done."

"Okay… I guess. So how are we going to do this? Are you gonna do a dance or…"

However, Travis was cut off by Nico grabbing his arm. Due to be distracted, Travis didn't get to find out how Nico did this shadow-travelling business. However, Travis could vouch that weird in no way covered how he was feeling.

Travis couldn't really describe it, except a really bizarre sensation. A really fast, dark, and cold sensation. Either way, he found it exhilarating. Travis could remember an early memory of going to a theme park and riding a roller coaster; it was sort of like that. Thinking back, Travis decided the roller coaster had nothing on shadow-travel.

Once it was over, Travis looked around and found that his surroundings were largely the same. However, upon doing a full 360, he realized that they had indeed ended up on the other side of a very tall and ominous wall.

"Like I said," Nico piped up, successfully interrupting Travis from his surveying of his surroundings, "I couldn't take both of us all the way to the River Lethe; otherwise, I'd pass out. I'm not very practiced with shadow-travelling with a second person, sorry."

"Don't sweat it. You got us past the gate, didn't you?" Travis replied with the wave of a hand.

At this, Nico chuckled. "Yeah, if I hadn't come with you, you'd probably have been eaten by Cerberus."

"Lovely," Travis shot back, "glad to see you find that so hilarious."

Nico only shrugged in response. Brat.

After a few moments of silence, Nico ventured, "We should probably get going. If we stay here too long, we run the risk of getting caught by the furies."

Not a second later, Travis (and Nico) heard a sound that could only be described as halfway between a squawk and a shriek.

Next to Travis, Nico sighed, "…too late."

Travis looked up and plainly saw two creatures that looked like a grotesque mix between a bat and a human. However, seeing them, something struck Travis as odd. "Aren't there supposed to be three?"

"Yeah. Chances are, one of them went back to inform Hades of our presence… or for backup."

Pulling his sword from his backpack, Travis grimaced. "Neither of those sound exactly pleasant."

"Well," Nico commented, "you could look at it from my point of view. If they successfully capture us, since they are more likely to do that and then take us to Hades, I'll probably be seen as a traitor for helping another demigod infiltrate the underworld."

"Also unpleasant."

Nico sighed, "At least you're not Percy. Hades can't stand him."

Even in light of the situation, Travis' lips quirked into a dry smirk. "Why not?"

"Something about being 'an arrogant little son of a seaweed brain'." Nico replied, his own expression matching Travis'.

"Well," Travis said, feigning nonchalance, "as fun as this conversation is, I think we have more important things to deal with."

Nico's expression faltered, and they simultaneously turned to the two furies, weapons posed and ready.

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><p><strong>I don't know why, but I like this chapter. Probably the stupid jokes; I have a soft spot for those. So thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Leave 'em in the review.<strong>

**I'm not sure how shadow-travelling works in the Underworld so I took creative liberty. Hope it doesn't offend anyone or anything. **

**On top of that, I'm not sure of Hades feelings of Percy. I figure he's grateful that Percy got him the cabin at Camp Halfblood, but maybe still mad that he broke into the Underworld, bathed in the Styx, and then beat him up. Come to think of it, there's been a lot of Percy talk in these last few chapters...**

**See you soon (hopefully). (: **


	22. Stick It to the Man

**Hey everyone. Chapter 22, enjoy. (:**

**flipntwist: Aww, thank you so much! **

**hetalia-pjato-fangirl: Thanks! Out of curiosity, do you watch Hetalia: Axis Powers? I have a friend who's obsessed with it, and she just recently started getting me to watch it, haha. Thanks for the review! (: **

** : Thank you so much; I never really thought this story would get all that popular (or be this long, for that matter), but I'm glad that you like it. Thanks for the review! (: **

**MangusBaneLover-InsideJoker: Yeah, you just can't but love Nico, can you? He's got to be one of my favorite characters. Thanks for the review! (: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>The furies were even uglier up close. They screeched and hissed and were just generally gruesome; it reminded Travis of that one time he woke up Lou Ellen in the middle of the night during a prank (but maybe just a bit less scary).<p>

Travis got into a fighting stance, with his weapon lifted in his right hand and his knees slightly bent—prepared to receive an attack.

However, they seemed to halt in their approach once they saw—or more likely, recognized—Nico. Travis wasn't sure if the fact relieved him or worried him further. On one hand, they didn't appear as if they were going to attack (though one could never really tell with monsters). However, it also meant that if the furies got back to Hades, they would inform the god of Nico's doings, which wouldn't be good for either of them. (Not to mention it made Travis feel slightly guilty. What could happen to Nico if Hades found out that he was helping Travis in the Underworld? )

Either way, Nico and himself were, for lack of a better word, screwed. Brilliant.

Deciding that they needed to do something, Travis glanced at Nico out of the corner of his eye in hopes to grab the younger demigod's attention. Maybe then, they could telepathically come up with a plan that could somehow save them from being eaten or dealing with an angry god of the Underworld. _Right_.

Either way, Travis managed to catch Nico's eye. He raised an eyebrow at the son of Hades, hoping that Nico had at least some idea of what they should do. He had been dealing with the Underworld for a few years; the boy had to know _something_ about getting them out of this mess, preferably in one piece. However, all Nico did was shrug in reply.

_Note to self_, Travis thought. _Next time, bring Percy along for weapons-fixing quest; he always has some crazy, barely-possible-last-minute plan._

Steeling himself for what appeared to be the beginnings of a fight, Travis once again turned to Nico and mouthed: "attack?"

Nico shook his head just a fraction of a degree and then spun around to face the furies.

"Alecto?" Nico said, though it was posed more as a question, rather than statement.

The fury, Alecto according to Nico, sneered at Travis before refocusing her ugly gaze on Nico.

"You have disgr—"

Whatever the monster was planning on saying was cut off by a voice Travis had not expected, at least not down here in the Underworld.

"Yo! You got past the gate?"

Turning to the voice, Travis blinked. Once. Twice. It was _Jared_.

"What in Hades are you doing here?" Travis all but shouted. Why didn't the kid listening to them when they said not to go down? Didn't Jared know how much trouble he could be (or already was) getting himself into?

"Well…" And now, Jared had the decency to at least look a little nervous.

"Well?"

"You told me not to go, and…"

"And?"

"You gotta stick it to the man, bro! Don't let yourself be oppressed." Whilst saying this, Jared shot Travis a _thumbs up_ and a grin, as if they weren't in the Underworld and in the presence of two furies.

"Jared," Nico grabbed the satyr's attention and then sighed, "just what are you doing here? And how did you get past the gate?"

Jared gave Nico an impish grin and replied, "A Satyr doesn't reveal his secrets."

Noticing that Jared had ignored the first question, Travis was going to bring it up again… but then he noticed a more _pressing_ matter: the furies were getting impatient.

They were baring their fangs and looked as if they were getting ready to attack. Not good.

"Fight now, talk later!"

It was impulse speaking, something Travis did a lot during combat. Usually it was related to the fight on hand, but Travis distinctly remembered on time during the Titan War when his battle call was "milkshakes", so it was an embarrassing habit.

Travis then turned around just fast enough to block claws from the first fury—Alecto as Nico called her.

His battle instincts kicked in and his body went on autopilot. Slash. Dodge. Stab. Roll. Eventually, he caught a weak point in the furies defense and managed to stab her in the stomach.

The fury let out a horrible screech and Travis used her moment of distraction to chop off her head. Thankfully, the action resulted in the monster turning into a pile of sand. However, it only took a few minutes of staring at the pile of sulfuric-smelling sand for it to start moving. The fury was already reforming!

He turned to Nico who had, thankfully, also successfully rid himself his fury. One problem down, several to go.

"I think it's time we get going." Travis suggested, his eyes darting towards the Fields of Punishment.

"Right," Nico replied and then turned to Jared, "what about him?"

Travis sighed; things were getting more and more complicated by the second. "We can't just leave him here; he's just going to come with us."

"Hey, wait!" Jared protested, but was cut off by Nico.

"Look, did you see those furies? There are plenty of other monsters who are just as bad as or worse than them running around the Underworld. As far as I see, you either didn't bring a way to defend yourself or you didn't use it. For your safety, and ours, you're coming with us."

That shut Jared right up and left Travis staring at the kid. For someone who was acting so, well, _bratty_ earlier, he sobered right up when the situation called for it. It reminded Travis that Nico had been through a lot and was several years younger than him; the carefree, immature act was probably just that, an act.

Nico shifted his eyes between Jared and Travis, probably wondering how he got himself stuck in such a situation (a thought that had also managed to cross Travis' mind on several occasions since starting this crazy quest).

"Let's go." And then Nico started walking off, towards the Fields of Punishment.

Travis took one last look at the furies, which were already reforming, and then turned to follow Nico, whilst also noting the new serious atmosphere their quest had taken on.

Jared, for once quiet, wasn't far behind.

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><p><strong>So what did you think? Comments, questions, anything really... leave it in a review, please. (: Oh, and Jared, what do you guys want to happen to him? I can have him freak out and leave the Underworld next chapter or I could just let him hang around until Travis and Nico leave too (if they leave, mwahaha). Anyway, it's up to you guys. <strong>

**HEY, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS, PLEASE: I'm uploading a new story soon, as in, the next week or two. It surrounds Percy and Annabeth and it's AU in relation to the fact that it happens before or, uh, doesn't include the Heroes of Olympus stuff. Anyway, be on the look out for it? Thanks. (:**

**Also, this fanfiction now includes what I'm pretty sure is considered mild violence. Should I up the rating to T? **

**See you soon, Bye! **


	23. Really, There Should be Some Glowing

**Hey! Sorry for the longer wait. My internet has been really wacky over the last two weeks, and I've finally found a break in my schedule that matches when the internet is actually working. **

**I just noticed this, but the first chapter is messed up. Somehow, the first chapter of this story was replaced with the first chapter of an old story that I had begun but eventually took down (due to lack of plot... heh). Anyways, due to a mishap with my computer a month or so back and because I don't have the chapter in the Doc Manager, I think I'm just going to have to rewrite the first chapter... *sigh*. (Edit 7/15/12: Alrighty I fixed the first chapter. I recommend going and reading it. It's a little different than the first one was originally, but hopefully still as good. Thanks!)**

**Anyways, thanks to anyone who read or reviewed last chapter. You guys rock!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus.**

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><p>"You know," It was Jared who had ended up breaking the tense, near claustrophobic atmosphere that seemed to hang over their group. "I did bring a weapon; It's just… you guys seemed to have everything under control."<p>

Nico didn't respond except for a curt nod of the head. Just what had gotten into that kid?

Travis decided that something needed to be said, even if Nico wasn't willing to be the one saying anything. "It's fine, Jared. Just next time, a little help would be nice."

"Got it." Jared replied, flashing Travis another one of his thumbs up. It was funny how different Jared was from other satyrs. It was no secret that satyrs were not the biggest fan of underground places, much less the Underworld, and yet, Jared acted right at home, as if the dead, dreary atmosphere of the Underworld had no effect on him.

As it turns out, the Fields of Punishment were slightly different than Travis had expected. Granted, the punishments were still awful (he had to suppress a shudder when he heard the Opera music). However, he still felt that cabin clean-up for eternity beat out a lot of them. Seriously, what was so bad about rolling a rock up a hill? (Though, apparently something, because Nico sent the rock-roller himself a glare that would send a hellhound running for its mommy.)

"How much longer?" Jared complained, "we've been walking forever!"

"…It's been 5 minutes." Nico corrected, smirking slightly at Jared's antics. "Still, the River Lethe isn't that far past the Fields of Punishment. If we don't run into any monsters, and that's a big if, then we should be there soon."

Travis saw Jared flinch slightly at the mentioning of monsters, but didn't comment. It was doubtful Jared would share anything anyway.

Travis let out a sign of relief once the group was out of the Fields of Punishment. Something about that place gave Travis the creeps. (It couldn't be all the creepy punishments, _of course not_.)

Not longer still, they came across a rushing river. Though he had never seen it before, and though Nico hadn't pointed it out, Travis knew what it was immediately. The River Lethe. It was a few feet and across and moving rapidly, much bigger and faster than the creek back at camp.

"How… how exactly are you going to do this Travis?" Nico asked, giving Travis a questioning glance.

However, before Travis had the chance to answer, Jared cried, "Finally! Some water, I am so thirsty!"

Before either of them could stop the satyr, Jared leaning down and pooled some water in his hands and took a drink. The effects were almost immediate. Jared's eyes went wide and he looked around, startled. "Where in Hades am I?"

Travis let out a nervous chuckle, "Well… it's funny you mention Hades…"

However, any humor he found in the current situation (and if he was honest, it was a little funny) was quickly lost when Nico said, "This isn't good."

"Well, obviously, I mean—" Travis replied but was cut off by Nico.

"No, he drank it! You're not supposed to drink the water! It could… who knows what kind of side effects that'll cause!" Nico seemed to be having a nervous breakdown, though Travis couldn't imagine why. So he lost some memories, so what?

"Well, I imagine it might cause memory loss…" Travis added in helpfully.

Unsurprisingly, Nico glared at him. "No… people usually bathe in the River Lethe to remove memories, I have no idea what happens when you drink it… is it temporary? Permanent? What if it causes him only to forget certain things!"

"Hey… I'm sure he isn't the first person in whatever-thousand years to drink the water… Calm down!"

"Who're you?" Jared cut it, staggering around as if drunk and pointing at Travis, "And why does your hair look so fluffy?"

"Well, actually—" However, Travis was once again cut off by Nico. Brat.

'We don't have time for this. Travis, you need to go ahead and enhance the weapons and then we need to get Jared here back to Central Park." Nico said, jabbing his thumb at Jared (who was still staggering around like a drunk person…er, satyr.)

"Um, well, okay…" Travis trailed off awkwardly while looking at the river. For whatever reason, it looked a lot more menacing now (which was kind of ridiculous, seeing as it was a river). He slung his backpack off his shoulder and pulled out both the gloves and the dagger.

Right before he dipped them in the water, however, Nico suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

Travis was not expecting Nico's random exclamation, and almost dropped the gloves in the river. "What?" Travis snapped back irritably.

"How long is this going to take…?" Nico asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Well," Travis said thoughtfully, "however long it takes for the magic to wear off."

"…And how long will that be?" Nico questioned again, his eyebrows raised.

"Erm… I have no idea." Travis finally said sheepishly, "Nyssa didn't tell me!"

"Actually," Jared cut in, looking a little bit more coherent, "just a few minutes should do. The river possesses a lot of magic, so it shouldn't take too long."

Travis stared at the satyr disbelievingly. "How does he remember that of all that?"

"I told you it was bad that he drank the water!"

"Well, whatever," Travis dismissed. Holding the objects gingerly (but firmly) Travis lowered the daggers and gloves into the current (the _strong_ current). The son of Hermes wasn't sure what he was expecting—maybe the weapons would start glowing or something—but they just sort of… got wet. How anticlimactic.

He waited and then checked his watch. One minute. So… another two minutes, maybe? _Sure, let's go with that_, though Travis.

However, Travis then heard a terrible screech. He turned around and saw… something approaching. He wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. "What is _that_?"

As it got closer, the long claws and sharp teeth became more apparent. How lovely.

"They're Keres!" Nico replied back whilst drawing his weapon, "And they don't look exactly friendly. You finish that, I'll take them," cue Jared swooning here, "…and protect Jared."

Travis sighed.

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><p><strong>I was looking for a new monster to come and mess with our oh-so-lovable group when I stumbled upon the Ker (plural: Keres) and thought it was a pretty cool monster... so I went with it. Yeah. <strong>

**Anyways, as always (alliteration, much?), please review and tell me your thoughts about the chapter/fanfiction. **

**See you soon, Bye!**


	24. Rubbery Escape

**Lions, and tigers, and references, oh my! Seriously though, there are some references in here (can you find 'em though, that is the question). If you don't count the Epilogue that I might be writing, I've already finished this story. There will be 26 chapters in the end, which is only 1 more than the 25 I originally predicted, woot woot. Oh, and this chapter is partly inspired by/dedicated to the song _A Little Faster_ by _There For Tomorrow_... look it up?**

**Anyways, this is the longest chapter thus far. 1,619 words excluding the ANs, yay! Anyways, I hope you enjoy it and thank you to anyone who reviewed or enjoy the last chapter. You guys are freakin' amazing. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>After about a minute of watching Nico fight the Keres, Travis came to the conclusion that he didn't want to ever piss of the son of Hades. Ever.<p>

Seriously, that kid was a demon when he wanted to be (heh, demon… get it?). It almost reminded Travis of whenever Percy was in battle, if only because they had that same look on their face. A fierce determinedness to get through the fight. To get to the next monster. To get to the next battle.

Travis had no shame it admitting it: it was freaking scary.

Travis watched as Nico took on three of the Keres, fighting them with relative ease. Or at least, the son of Hades was until a fourth one appeared behind Nico, with no way for the demigod in question to know of it (her?) presence. So, to put bluntly, Nico was screwed.

He tried to warm Nico, but it turned out he didn't need to. Travis wasn't sure where he got it, but Jared was holding a club and whacking the Hades out of it. It was actually rather funny to watch, seeing as the satyr was also shouting, "Bad! Bad monster!"

Jared sounded almost like he was scolding a four year-old for drawing on a wall, rather than a monster for almost slicing Nico like a piece of cake.

And then Nico got to the skeleton summoning and his resolve to always stay on the demigod's good side strengthened tenfold. Seriously, at this point, the kid was just showing off.

Another minute or so passed and Travis removed the gloves and daggers from the river. And they still didn't glow… he needed to talk to someone about that. Really, there should be some glowing.

"Hey, Nico," Travis said, "I'm done… we should probably leave now…"

"Good call," the son of Hades replied, before summoning some more skeletons to distract the Keres before yelling at Jared to follow, who thankfully did what he was told for once.

They quickly ran back to the Fields of Punishment and through it. In half an hour, they were back at the tree in front of (behind?) the gate. However, Travis noticed a problem almost immediately.

"How are we all three going to get back to the other side?" he voiced. Nico had trouble with two people, not to mention the added stress of summoning skeletons. Travis wasn't the best at math, but he knew for a fact that adding another person and a few undead to an equation _always_ made things more complicated. Always.

"Well…" Nico said, "This would be a great time to reveal your secrets, Jared…" Nico said, directing their attention to their satyr companion.

Jared was looking a lot more coherent than earlier, but upon Nico's question, he looked confused, "Secret? What secret?"

"…he forgot." Travis sighed. "I can't believe he forgot."

"I can, I knew bad things would happen if he drank the water!" Nico replied, glaring at Travis as if it were his fault the satyr decided to quench his thirst with amnesia water.

"Okay, okay. We still need a way out of here. I, for one, do not want to spend the rest of my life in the Underworld. Seriously, it'd be really messed up… and ironic…" Travis shuddered. _Irony_. It's some scary stuff. "Do you know of any other entrances/exits Nico?"

"Besides the doors of Orpheus, all I know of were the Labyrinth, which is gone, and the traditional way, which is not an option. However… I might be able to get us past Cerberus… _might_."

"How?" Skeptical Travis activated.

"Well, I'm the son of Hades… maybe that'll give me some sort of advantage… I just never really considered it before, seeing as it seemed a lot simpler just to shadow travel past the gate." Okay, so that almost made sense.

"Well, then let's go."

When they reached the actual gate, Travis saw a huge dog with three heads on the other side. Thankfully, he was facing away from them. Under the dog, several feet appeared, as if there was a line. Next to gate with what Travis assumed to be Cerberus was another gate, but he couldn't see anything but darkness.

Noticing his staring, Nico explained, "That's the Hall of Judgment. Judging is strictly confidential, so naturally, you wouldn't be able to hear or see anything from the outside."

"So… how do we do this?" Travis questioned, not even bothering to hide his apprehensive stare at the three-headed Rottweiler.

"Well, being sneaky is our first try. If that doesn't work, then we're winging it." Nico responded, not looking the least bit phased about "winging it" against the guard dog of the Underworld. What a creepy kid.

"Awesome." Please, note the sarcasm.

They passed through easily enough. Travis wasn't sure why, but he expected alarms to go off. As if reading his mind (this was actually getting kind of freaky), Nico commented softly, "If we went through the other way, we probably would've set off every alarm possible. It's sort of a one way system. I should probably talk to my dad about it, but he'd probably just complain about how much he'd have to pay to magically update his gates or something. He does that a lot."

"Magically update his gate?" Travis couldn't help but notice how weird the question sounded, in _or_ out of context.

"Complain." There was no doubting the amusement in Nico's voice. So, of course, Travis had to chuckle. And, of course, fate decided that it was now that Cerberus had to perk up his ears and hear the not-so-sneaky demigods and satyr behind them. Though, to be fair, Jared was actually being kind of sneaky. It was almost as if he had done this before. Weird.

The three-headed monster turned around and did his best menacing growl which was, unsurprisingly, very menacing.

Travis turned to Nico, hoping the other demigod had some sort of plan. Thankfully, he did. Nico stepped in front of Travis and slung a backpack off his shoulders (why didn't Travis notice that before?). The son of Hermes figured Nico was going to pull out some sort of amazingly amazing magic object that could somehow control Cerberus. Instead, Nico pulled out… a rubber ball.

_A rubber ball_.

A. Rubber. Ball!

"What the heck, Nico?" Travis didn't bother lowering his voice. If he had any doubts about Nico's sanity beforehand (and there were a few), now he was absolutely certain. Craziness is hereditary, and Nico took after his father. Hades would be so, er… proud.

"Just shut up for a minute." Nico replied, and then held out the red ball to Cerberus. And then the most shockingly stupid thing that could ever happen, happened.

The dog got _excited_. He was wagging his tail and everything. It took all of Travis' willpower to keep his jaw off the ground.

Taking on a stern tone, Nico ordered the dog, "Sit."

And the dog freaking _sat_.

Nico held the ball to the left and then right and all three dog heads obediently followed, keeping their eyes training on the rubber sphere. _This is madness_, Travis thought_, it's madness, I tell you!_

And then Nico threw the ball and Cerberus was gone, bounding after the rubber sphere.

"I don't understand life." Travis said, his face blank.

"It makes sense, actually," Jared countered, "Every living creature needs a little love. Even three-headed guard dogs in the Underworld."

"Where did you even get an idea like that?" Travis questioned, still incredulous.

Nico shrugged. "Percy."

"And you… and so… You listened to him?" It almost sounded crazier than the idea itself. Percy was notoriously famous for his life threatening plans; who in their right mind would actually listen to them?

Nico shrugged again. "I wanted to try it. Why do you think I was at the doors of Orpheus? I was going to the Underworld, it was only by chance that I ran into you."

"You mean you made me believe that I was troubling you when you were going anyway?" That. Brat.

"You're the one who fell for it."

"Why didn't you just shadow travel into the Underworld?"

"Too much power… and I was in the area. Either way, it worked. I'll have to thank Percy… you know, if he remembers this… and if we find him."

Well, that certainly put a damper on things. Not that being in the Underworld with an amnesic satyr and depressed kid was really all that cheerful to begin with, though. Just a day in the life, really.

"Whatever… We need to get out of here. If the weapons and gloves aren't bonded together before the second full moon of the month under the pretense of true love, then the weapons will forever remain separate." Travis deadpanned.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Nah, but I do have to get back before the magic wears off and connect the weapons with the gloves. You know, so the gloves will transform 'n stuff."

"'Transform 'n stuff.' How eloquently put."

"You know it. Anyways… we should really be getting back above now." Travis replied, and then turned his attention to Jared, "You're coming with us. No arguments."

Thankfully, the satyr had none; Travis really wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle Jared go on about "rising against" and "sticking it to the man" again.

And with that, the group began their way to the Door of Orpheus. Upon reaching the staircase, Travis fished the flashlight out of his backpack and the group continued their track back to Central Park.

Travis couldn't deny it; he was excited. Soon the weapons would be fixed and soon he would be back to Katie. And hopefully, shed forgive him.

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><p><strong>So yeah, that pretty much concludes our time in the Underworld. I had almost considered having then visit that lovely ghost-lady from The Demigod Files as means to leave the Underworld, but decided against it. Though it would make for a pretty epic escape, I just didn't feel like you guys wanted to be here anymore than you had to be. So soon, Travis and Katie will be together again! I hoped you liked this chapter. Review, pretty-please? <strong>

**I'm not sure why, but writing the last few chapters of this story has quickly turned Tratie into one of my favorite PJO couples. I just love the dynamics of how they work, you know? **

**The next fic I had originally planned on posted is complicating itself into something much bigger than I originally thought it would be, so I'm gonna make myself write out an entire draft before I post anything. So, while I do that, I was thinking about posting another Tratie story, either a sequel to this or a completely separate fic, which will be told in our dear Katie's POV. Thoughts on which one? **

**Anyways, I'll be seeing you all soon. Bye (: **


	25. Facepalm

**Hey, sorry for the wait; I've been extremely busy lately. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon. **

**Thank you to everyone who review, you guys are the greatest. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>When they reached the top and got back out of the Underworld officially, there was a group of satyrs waiting for them. Travis barely had time to register how strange the situation was before the group started cheering. <em>Well<em>, Travis thought, _if this is going to be the reaction every time I go on a quest, I should definitely consider doing it more often_.

"And there he is!" One of them shouted. For a moment, Travis thought they were talking about him, until another approached their group and gave Jared a hug, making sure to slap him affectionately on the back for good measure.

"What is this? Jared's 4th time sneaking into the Underworld?"

"Haha, yeah! Remember that one time he snuck behind those two idiots right before the Titan War?" Judging by the look on Nico's face, one of those "idiots" just found out.

"Woah, woah, woah." Travis said, making sure to grab the rowdy group of satyr's attention, "Woah." Okay, so that one was just for affect. "What are you talking about?"

"This idiot," one of the satyrs spoke up and jabbed a thumb towards Jared, "sneaks in the Underworld all the time. He loves it there! It's weird… personally; I hate underground places, but whatever, to each his own. Anyway, don't ask me how, but our daring Jared here always, always ends up drinking from the Lethe and forgetting the whole thing.

"We've yet to tell him he's snuck in multiple times, just to see if he'll do it again. It actually really funny… though it was confusing after the first time, since he couldn't remember anything…"

Travis sincerely had to resist the urge to face-palm, and one look at Nico said that the son of Hades was having the same thoughts. That had to be the stupidest thing Travis had ever had the pleasure or hearing… and that was saying something, considering he knew Percy Jackson (and was a bit of a dare devil himself).

"We'll just take him off your hands… He's probably given you enough trouble," sympathized one of the satyrs, grapping Jared by the arm and slapping him on the back. "Crazy kid."

"Well… we'll just… be on our way now." Travis replied.

And then he and Nico bolted.

Oddly enough, they ran all the way back to the camp van, though Travis couldn't exactly say why. It wasn't as if the satyrs were threatening, but if they let their friend randomly go off into the Underworld... yeah, so he ran.

He looked at Nico who just blinked. Once. Twice. "This is why I'm antisocial." Well, Travis couldn't argue with that logic. "Anyways, I should probably leave. I have… things to do. I'll get back to you on that whole 'owing me one' later."

And before Travis could respond, Nico shadow travelled away.

Travis was sure he had the thought several times during his… adventure with Nico, so he felt it was about time he just voiced it, "That brat!"

Finally, he sighed and got back into the van. He had a long way back to camp; he might as well get going.

The ride back to camp was uneventful, which Travis found a little odd but didn't question. He'd had enough of monsters randomly jumping out at him for a lifetime… and he was only 17. _Great_.

By the time had got back, it was way past dusk and well into the night. He managed to get the camp van back to its original spot behind the big house. Maybe Chiron wouldn't even notice that it was missing, maybe.

By the time he got back to his cabin, he was dog tired. It seemed that going on a quest to the Underworld could do that to a person. Who knew.

Travis dreamed that night, but it didn't have the normal clarity of demigod dreams. It was just a blur of memories that were all jumbled together. Most of them were of himself and Katie, though a few also features his recent vacation to the Underworld. The last image, however, was of Demeter handing him the bottle. Strange.

For whatever reason, that was the image that jarred Travis awake. He peeled open his eyes and looked out the cabin window. The sun was just below the horizon, and rays were just beginning to peak out through the clouds. It seemed as though Apollo was timing himself right for once.

Travis groaned and rolled over, willing himself back to sleep. He couldn't have gotten more than a few hour, 5 or 6 at best. And he needed at least 8 to be the Travis everyone knew and loved.

However, the image of Demeter stirred in his mind again. The weapons! They still needed to be connected. But how…?

Nyssa! She would know. Hopping out of his bed and grabbing his backpack, Travis sprinted out of the Hermes cabin and towards the Hephaestus one. Not bothering with trying to remain quiet, he banged on the door loudly. Finally, Jake came and answered the door. Now, Jake was usually a very nice and agreeable person. However, at the moment, if looks could kill, Travis would be making his second trip to the Underworld in less than a day.

"What?" the son of Hephaestus snapped.

"I need Nyssa. Now."

The urgency in Travis' voice must of woken Jake up or something because the guy looked a lot more coherent and less killer intent. "Um, well, okay."

Soon, Nyssa was standing in front of Travis looking perplexed of all things. She blinked, and then finally said, "When did you get back?"

"Last night. Anyway, we need to bond these weapons or whatever. This won't take too long will it? I think breakfast is soon and I'm really hungry since all I've eaten are granola bars while driving. And I also wanna finish this before Kaite—" However, before Travis could continue his rambling, he was cut off by Nyssa.

"How did you get beck so fast?"

"Huh?" Travis paused, "Um, well… I got some unexpected help along the way in the form of a bratty son of Hades."

Nyssa narrowed her eyes in disbelief, but ended up just shaking her head. "Fine, whatever. This is the tricky part. You're going to need something of godly caliber to create a link between the weapons and object. For instance, ichor of the gods would work or a non-lethal shot from Zeus' bolt."

Travis was stunned. Where were they going to get something like that? But then he thought back to the vial Demeter gave him. "What—what about the essence of a flower from Demeter's garden? Would that work?"

"Actually, yes," Nyssa replied, "but where'd you—"

However, Travis was already taking the chord off his neck. "Okay, so how do you do this?"

"Just make sure some gets on each and put them near each other respectively—that means right glove with right dagger and left with left."

"How will we know if it works?"

"Well, there should be some glowing," cue internal cheering here, "and then the weapons should disappear. Once Katie uses them, it'll make the entire process permanent."

Travis did what was instructed and by the time that he was done, the rest of the camp was waking up and getting prepared to head down to breakfast.

Travis grinned. He always did like an audience. So he headed for the dining hall, tacky green gloves tucked under his arm.

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><p><strong>Alrighty, so review and tell me your thoughts? Please (: <strong>

**Next chapterr has our little Tratie confrotation, woot woot. **

**See you soon (hopefully), bye! **


	26. Hollywood Esque

**I legit think I'm gonna cry;_ Kitchen Duty_ is officially complete! Now, I might get around to doing an Epic Log (more commonly known as an epilogue), but for now, it's finished. I'd like to say I'll be posting new stuff soon or finishing _Reactions_ in the near future... but school just started back up and I already have homework. Yeah, it sucks. I'll finish it and have new stuff up... eventually. **

**Anyway, thank you everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. Seriously, you all are amazing. I love you all. (: **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. **

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><p>By the time Traivs got to the dining hall, most of the other cabins were already there, excluding the Demeter cabin (where in and of itself was odd, Katie didn't like being late for anything).<p>

Travis shrugged and walked over the Hermes table, which was already filled. He could wait.

He sat down next to his brother and grinned, "Miss me?"

"Hardly. In fact, the whole camp has been very merry while you've been gone. Well, that is, except for one Miss Katie Gardner."

Now that got Travis' attention. "Really?"

"Seriously, you go missing for a day and it's like the whole Percy things, except you know, you and Katie and not Percy and Annabeth."

Travis rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"No problem, Sergeant Sarcastic."

"Good one, Comrade Comeback."

"Nice—"

But sadly (not really), their bantering was cut short by none other than Katie Gardner himself.

"Travis. Stoll!" Well, it turns out Katie didn't lose her ability to not-really-yell-but-sound-scarier-than-Hades-himself ability while he had been gone. What a shame; he really could've done without that voice being used on him ever again.

"Oh, why hello there Katie," he replied with a wink, hiding the gloves behind his back, "miss me?"

"Where in Hades were you?" So now she was onto actual yelling. He looking around, amused, to see eyes darting back and forth between them like a tennis match. Oh yes, he did love an audience.

"Well, it's funny that you mention Hades, Katie-Kat." Travis replied evenly, giving her his trademark smirk.

A look of confusion flittered over Katie's face before it was quickly replaced by realization. "You. Went. To. The. Underworld?"

Though she was doing her best to sound angry, Travis could also hear the worry in her voice. Involuntarily, he smiled.

However, he quickly sobered up and suddenly found it hard to speak (maybe the audience wasn't the best idea), "I just…" and then the dam broke, and suddenly the words were rushing, too fast for him (and probably Katie also) to comprehend, "It's just that I was a jerk and hurt you by destroying your weapons and a gift from your mom. I had no reason to that I felt so horrible and you were so upset. And so I had to fix it because I couldn't stand see you md at me. I couldn't stand seeing you sad because…. I really care about you Katie; I really like you."

Katie just stood there, shocked, as Travis pulled the gloves from behind his back and held them out to Katie. Cautiously, the daughter of Demeter pulled them from Travis' nervous (were they shaking?) hands and put them on. Instantly, the gloves turned to two twin daggers and then back, proving that he had indeed fixed it.

"Travis…" Katie said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Katie…?" Psh, his voice was not shaky. What are you talking about?

Yeah, the audience definitely wasn't his brightest idea; he swore he heard his little half-sister (who didn't even like Katie) shout, "Oh, just kiss her already!"

However, before Travis even got the chance to do anything, Katie hooked a foot around his right ankle and pulled back, effectively throwing Travis off balance. Then she grabbed Travis behind his neck for a Hollywood-esque kiss, which sent the entire dining hall up into cat calls and wolf whistles. (Yeah, real mature guys.)

But seriously, the kiss was amazing… even after he heard Katie's younger half-brother say, "Ew, why did you have to kiss _him_?"

Travis wasn't sure how long it was before they broke apart. Once they did, they just stared at each other, both a little dazed and giddy and what just happened. It was, overall, a very romantic and touchy moment, a great start to their relationship…

That is, until Connor stood up and announced to the entire dining hall, "Well, give it up for the lovely. I think we all saw this coming… sort of like Percy and Annabeth, you know, just with Travis and Katie. Though, there was probably a lot more of Katie beating up Travis than with Annabeth and Percy," and here he paused, a devilish grin taking over his features, "I think it's about time to start the bets on how long the happy couple will last. And to everyone who lost money in the Percy/Annabeth bet, pay up."

Strangely, a lot of people got up. Weather it was to pay up on the whole Percy/Annabeth thing or to bet on their own relationship, Travis wasn't sure (and he wasn't sure he wanted to know either).

He took Katie off to the side, but they could still overhear the bets being placed.

"I give 'em a week."

"Oh, come on Leo. Have some faith; a year."

"Oh please, Piper. A month, tops."

"Hm… I think they'll make it. Opposite couples tend to work… I would know." (Travis supposed that was Annabeth's way of saying forever without being sappy, because the gods knew Annabeth chase is not sappy.)

"As if, I give a day." And then there was Connor, always so confident it Travis' abilities. _Thanks, bro_, Travis thought, _real boost of confidence, you are_.

Katie looked at him, a small smile on her face. He really couldn't help but return it, Katie was just so… beautiful. "You know… this all started with us getting Kitchen Duty."

"Actually," Travis countered, a playing smirk working its way onto his face, "this all started with me throwing a pancake at you. I think you should definitely thank me, seeing as your first response had been to douse me in cereal."

Katie punched him. Okay, so apparently they dating did not mean Katie was going to be any less violent towards him. Not that he'd have he any other way…

But that also mean that he wasn't quitting his pranks either, and he had a _perfect_ idea for his next one.

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><p><strong>If you were ever to review a chapter of Kitchen Duty, this would be the chapter. Not only is it the technical last chapter (still thinking 'bout that Epic Log), but also cause it has our Tratie! Romance isn't my forte, but I try to make it as realistic as possible (so it's usually only a subplot and slow-building... not just random hooking up). If I do end up writing the epilogue, it will include more romance. <strong>

**Anyways, thank you so much for reading! I love you! Bye. (: **


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